Accounting

3M Corporation – Auditing and Assurance

Prepared for Kathleen Sobieralski

By

Carla Merritt

August 7, 2010

3M Corporation – Auditing and Assurance

Introduction

At the 3M Corporation the board of directors appoints members to an auditing committee per their corporate charter. According to the 2010 proxy materials the purpose of the audit committee is to ‘‘Discuss policies and procedures with respect to risk assessment and risk management, the Company’s major risk exposures and the steps management has taken to monitor and mitigate such exposures.’’ In 2009, the audit committee consisted of six members. Additionally, the 3M Corporation was audited in 2009 by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers issued an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the company’s internal control over financial reporting. Stated in the 2010 proxy statement, 3M paid a total of $12.9 million in audit and non-audit fees in 2009 to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The auditing and auditing related fees were the bulk of the total paid at $11.7 million. Auditing services provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP consisted of audit work, review services, review of documents submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, financial due diligence, audits of employee benefit plans, and other attestation services.

The Responsibilities of the Auditor’s

The 2010 audit committee charter states the roles and responsibilities of the audit committee. The purpose of the audit committee is to assist the board of directors in the oversight of the integrity of the company’s financial statements, assure the company’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, assure the qualifications and independence of the company’s independent registered public accounting firm, and to oversee the performance of the company’s internal auditing department and the company’s independent accounting firm. Membership in the...