Abercrombie & Fitch 2007 Annual Report Download - page 22

audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances.
We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
As discussed in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in
which it accounts for share-based compensation in 2006. As described in Note 10 to the consolidated financial
statements, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for uncertain tax positions in 2007.
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.
Columbus, Ohio
March 28, 2008
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
40 41
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO.: 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 2,
2008 and February 3, 2007, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three
years in the period ended February 2, 2008 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted
in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects,
effective internal control over financial reporting as of February 2, 2008, based on criteria established in
Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s management is responsible for these financial
statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of
the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s
Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these
financial statements and on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our
integrated audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the
audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material
misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all
material respects. Our audits of the financial statements included 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. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding
of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing
and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our