Under Canadian Generally Accepted Auditing Standards and the Standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States)
TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF NOVA CHEMICALS CORPORATION
We have audited the Consolidated Balance Sheets of NOVA Chemicals Corporation as at December 31, 2007 and 2006, and the related Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss), Changes in Shareholders’ Equity, Comprehensive Income (Loss) and Cash Flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2007. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Corporation’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Auditing Standards and the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform an audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, these Consolidated Financial Statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of NOVA Chemicals Corporation as at December 31, 2007 and 2006, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2007, in conformity with Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
As discussed in Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, the Corporation made changes to its methods of accounting for stock-based compensation, financial instruments and hedges, and has also changed its presentation of equity and changes in equity, including reporting of comprehensive income. As discussed in Note 21, the Corporation made changes to its methods of accounting for uncertainty in income taxes and defined benefit pension and other post-retirement plans. In addition, as described in Note 19, the Corporation has restated its segmented reporting for the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005.
We have also audited, in accordance with the Standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), NOVA Chemicals Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 7, 2008, expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
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Ernst & Young LLP
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Chartered Accountants
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February 7, 2008 |
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