Abercrombie & Fitch 2006 Annual Report Download - page 22

for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Our responsibility is to express
opinions on management’s assessment and on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial
reporting based on our audit. We conducted our audit of internal control over financial reporting in accordance with
the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we
plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial
reporting was maintained in all material respects. An audit of internal control over financial reporting includes
obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, evaluating management’s assessment, testing
and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control, and performing such other procedures as
we consider necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinions.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting
includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable
assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made
only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable
assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s
assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect
misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that
controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies
or procedures may deteriorate.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Columbus, Ohio
March 30, 2007
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Abercrombie &Fitch
Abercrombie &Fitch
42 43
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO.: We have
completed integrated audits of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s consolidated financial statements and of its internal
control over financial reporting as of February 3, 2007, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Our opinions, based on our audits, are presented below.
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets
and the related consolidated statements of net income and comprehensive income, of shareholders’ equity and
of cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and its
subsidiaries at February 3, 2007 and January 28, 2006, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for
each of the three years in the period ended February 3, 2007 in conformity with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s
management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable
assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit of financial statements
includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements,
assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
As discussed in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements, effective January 29, 2006, the Company
changed the manner in which it accounts for share-based compensation.
INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING Also, in our opinion, management’s assessment,
included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting, that the
Company maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of February 3, 2007 based on criteria
established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (COSO), is fairly stated, in all material respects, based on those criteria. Furthermore, in our
opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of
February 3, 2007, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the COSO.
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and