Autodesk 2008 Annual Report Download - page 97

While we believe we currently have adequate internal control over financial reporting, we are required to
evaluate our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
and any adverse results from such evaluation could result in a loss of investor confidence in our financial
reports and have an adverse effect on our stock price.
Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Section 404”), we are required to furnish a
report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting. The report contains, among other
matters, an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end of our
fiscal year, including a statement as to whether or not our internal control over financial reporting is effective.
This assessment must include disclosure of any material weaknesses in our internal control over financial
reporting identified by management.
While we have determined in our Management Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
included in this Form 10-K, that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of January 31,
2008, we must continue to monitor and assess our internal control over financial reporting. If our management
identifies one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and such weakness
remains uncorrected at fiscal year end, we will be unable to assert such internal control is effective at fiscal year
end. If we are unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective at fiscal year end (or if
our independent registered public accounting firm are unable to express an opinion on the effectiveness of our
internal controls), we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports,
which would likely have an adverse effect on our business and stock price.
We may face intellectual property infringement claims that could be costly to defend and result in our loss of
significant rights.
As more and more software patents are granted worldwide, as the number of products and competitors in
our industry segments grows and as the functionality of products in different industry segments overlaps, we
expect that software product developers will be increasingly subject to infringement claims. Infringement or
misappropriation claims have in the past been, and may in the future be, asserted against us, and any such
assertions could harm our business. Additionally, certain patent holders without products have become more
aggressive in threatening and pursuing litigation in attempts to obtain fees for licensing the right to use patents.
Any such claims or threats, whether with or without merit, have been and could in the future be time-consuming
to defend, result in costly litigation and diversion of resources, or could cause product shipment delays or require
us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements. In addition, such royalty or license agreements, if required, may
not be available on acceptable terms, if at all, which would likely harm our business.
Changes in existing financial accounting standards or practices, or taxation rules or practices may adversely
affect our results of operations.
Changes in existing accounting or taxation rules or practices, new accounting pronouncements or taxation
rules, or varying interpretations of current accounting pronouncements or taxation practice could have a significant
adverse effect on our results of operations or the manner in which we conduct our business. Further, such changes
could potentially affect our reporting of transactions completed before such changes are effective. In particular, for
fiscal 2007, we adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123R (“SFAS 123R”) which requires us
to record stock-based compensation charges to earnings for employee stock option grants using a fair-value-based
method for determining such charges. We believe that the adoption of SFAS 123R will continue to materially
adversely impact our earnings and may impact the manner in which we conduct our business.
Our business could suffer as a result of risks associated with strategic acquisitions and investments such as the
acquisition of NavisWorks, Robobat and Hanna Strategies.
We periodically acquire or invest in businesses, software products and technologies that are complementary
to our business through strategic alliances, equity investments or acquisitions. For example, we recently
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2008 Annua
l Report