Autodesk 2008 Annual Report Download - page 164

REPORT OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP, INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Directors and Stockholders of Autodesk, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Autodesk, Inc., as of January 31, 2008
and 2007 and the related consolidated statements of income, cash flows and stockholders’ equity for each of the
three years in the period ended January 31, 2008. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed
in the Index at Item 15(a)(2). These financial statements and schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s
management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and schedule based on our
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 audit to obtain reasonable assurance
about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test
basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes
assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating
the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our
opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the
consolidated financial position of Autodesk, Inc. at January 31, 2008 and 2007, and the consolidated results of its
operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended January 31, 2008, in conformity with
U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule,
when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in all material
respects the information set forth therein.
As discussed in Note 1, “Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” and Note 3, “Income
Taxes,” in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, Autodesk, Inc. changed its method of accounting
for stock-based compensation as of February 1, 2006, and its method of accounting for uncertain tax positions as
of February 1, 2007.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States), the effectiveness of Autodesk, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of January 31,
2008 based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of
Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated March 27, 2008 expressed an
unqualified opinion thereon.
/s/ E
RNST &Y OUNG LLP
San Jose, California
March 27, 2008
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