Fees Paid to Independent Auditor - 2005 Proxy Statement - Duke Energy
Duke Energy

Fees Paid to Independent Auditor

The following table presents fees for professional services rendered by Deloitte & Touche LLP, and the member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and their respective affiliates (collectively, "Deloitte") for Duke Energy and its subsidiaries for 2004 and 2003:

Type of Fees FY 2004 FY 2003
(In millions)
Audit Fees (a) $10.7   $11.6
(f)
Sarbanes-Oxley 404 Fees (b)    14.7        0  
Total Audit Fees   $25.4   $11.6
Audit-Related Fees (c)   1.9   1.6
Tax Fees (d)   8.2   10.8
All Other Fees (e)      0.1      0.3
Total Fees:   $35.6   $24.3

(a) Audit Fees are fees billed or expected to be billed by Deloitte for professional services for the audit of Duke Energy's consolidated financial statements included in Duke Energy's annual report on Form 10-K and review of financial statements included in Duke Energy's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, services that are normally provided by Deloitte in connection with statutory, regulatory or other filings or engagements or any other service performed by Deloitte to comply with generally accepted auditing standards and include comfort and consent letters in connection with SEC filings and financing transactions.

(b) Sarbanes-Oxley 404 fees are fees billed or expected to be billed by Deloitte for professional services for the audit of Duke Energy's internal controls under the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related regulations.

(c) Audit-Related Fees are fees billed by Deloitte for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of an audit or review of Duke Energy's financial statements, including assistance with acquisitions and divestitures, internal control reviews, employee benefit plan audits and general assistance with the implementation of the SEC rules pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

(d) Tax Fees are fees billed by Deloitte for tax return assistance and preparation, tax examination assistance, and professional services related to tax planning and tax strategy. In 2004, after the SEC issued a statement clarifying what constitutes a contingent fee arrangement for tax services, Duke Energy and Deloitte amended four previously existing fee arrangements into non-refundable fixed fees. Tax Fees for 2004 includes $4.8 million of such fees, and $4.8 million more will be due and paid in the first quarter of 2005.

(e) All Other Fees are fees billed by Deloitte for any services not included in the first three categories, primarily translation of audited financials into foreign languages, accounting training and conferences.

(f) The Duke Energy proxy statement filed on March 31, 2004, stated that Audit Fees for fiscal 2003 were $9.7 million. That number did not include $1.9 million of Audit Fees that had not been billed and were not anticipated at the time that the 2004 proxy statement was filed.

To safeguard the continued independence of the independent auditor, the Audit Committee adopted a policy that prevents Duke Energy's independent auditor from providing services to Duke Energy and its subsidiaries that are prohibited under Section 10A(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. This policy also provides that independent auditors are only permitted to provide services to Duke Energy and its subsidiaries that have been pre-approved by the Audit Committee. Pursuant to the policy, all audit services require advance approval by the Audit Committee. All other services by the independent auditor that fall within certain designated dollar thresholds, both per engagement as well as annual aggregate, have been pre-approved under the policy. Different dollar thresholds apply to the three categories of pre-approved services specified in the policy (Audit-Related services, Tax services and Other services). All services that exceed the dollar thresholds must be approved in advance by the Audit Committee. Pursuant to applicable provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Audit Committee has delegated approval authority to the Chairman of the Audit Committee. The Chairman has presented all approval decisions to the full Audit Committee. All services performed by the independent auditor in 2004 were approved by the Audit Committee pursuant to its pre-approval policy, except that services comprising 1% of Tax Fees and 14% of Other Fees were approved pursuant to the de minimus exception to the rules and regulations of the SEC on pre-approval.