Abercrombie & Fitch 2009 Annual Report Download - page 88

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 accompanying 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 30, 2010 and January 31, 2009, and the results of their operations and their cash flows
for each of the three years in the period ended January 30, 2010 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 30, 2010, 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.
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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