Abercrombie & Fitch 2008 Annual Report Download - page 89

Table of Contents
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.:
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements listed in the index appearing under Item 15(a)(1)
present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and its
subsidiaries at January 31, 2009 and February 2, 2008, and the results of their operations and their cash
flows for each of the three years in the period ended January 31, 2009 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 January 31,
2009, 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 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 described in Note 12 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.
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Source: ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO /DE/, 10-K, March 27, 2009 Powered by Morningstar® Document Research℠