Abercrombie & Fitch 2013 Annual Report Download - page 78

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78
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders 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 (the Company) at
February 2, 2013 and January 28, 2012, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the
period ended February 2, 2013 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, 2013, 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 Annual 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 audit. 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 discussed in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for
inventory in fiscal 2012.
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.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Columbus, Ohio
April 2, 2013
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