Avon 2001 Annual Report Download - page 47

PAGE 73
Report of Independent
Accountants
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Avon
Products, Inc.
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance
sheets and the related consolidated statements of income,
cash flows and changes in shareholders’ equity after the
restatement described in Note 2, present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of Avon Products,
Inc. at December 31, 2002 and 2001, and the results of
their operations and their cash flows for each of the three
years in the period ended December 31, 2002, in conform-
ity with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States of America. These financial statements are
the responsibility of Avon’s management; our responsibil-
ity is to express an opinion on these financial statements
based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these
statements in accordance with auditing standards gener-
ally accepted in the United States, which 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, assessing the accounting princi-
ples used and significant estimates made by management,
and evaluating the overall financial statement presenta-
tion. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis
for our opinion.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
New York, New York
January 28, 2003
Report of Management
The accompanying consolidated financial statements
of Avon Products, Inc. have been prepared by manage-
ment in conformity with generally accepted accounting
principles in the U.S. and necessarily include amounts
that are based on judgments and estimates. The audit
report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent
accountants, on these financial statements is the result
of their audits of these consolidated financial statements,
which were performed in accordance with generally
accepted auditing standards.
Avon maintains an internal control structure and
related systems, policies and procedures designed to pro-
vide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded,
transactions are executed in accordance with appropriate
authorization and accounting records may be relied upon
for the preparation of financial information. Avon also
maintains an internal audit department that evaluates and
formally reports to management on the adequacy and
effectiveness of controls, policies and procedures.
The audit committee of the board of directors, com-
prised solely of outside directors, has an oversight role in
the area of financial reporting and internal controls. This
committee meets several times during the year with man-
agement, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the internal
auditors to monitor the proper discharge of each of their
respective responsibilities. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
and the internal auditors have free access to management
and to the audit committee to discuss the results of their
activities and the adequacy of controls.
It is management’s opinion that Avon’s policies and
procedures, reinforced by the internal control structure,
provide reasonable assurance that operations are managed
in a responsible and professional manner with a commit-
ment to the highest standard of business conduct.
Andrea Jung
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Robert J. Corti
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer