Bed, Bath and Beyond 2007 Annual Report Download - page 35

BED BATH& BEYOND ANNUAL REPORT 2007
33
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
The Board of Directors and Shareholders
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.:
We have audited Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) internal control over financial reporting as of March 1,
2008, 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 maintaining effective internal
control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting, appearing in Item 9A, Controls and Procedures. Our responsi-
bility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit 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 effective internal
control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of inter-
nal 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 audit also included performing such other procedures
as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
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
(1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions
of the assets of the company; (2) 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 (3) 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.
In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of March 1,
2008, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by COSO.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the
consolidated balance sheets of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and subsidiaries as of March 1, 2008 and March 3, 2007, and the related
consolidated statements of earnings, shareholders’ equity and cash flows and the related financial statement schedule for each
of the fiscal years in the three-year period ended March 1, 2008, and our report dated April 29, 2008 expressed an unqualified
opinion on those consolidated financial statements and the related financial statement schedule.
Short Hills, New Jersey
April 29, 2008
MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined
in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). Our management assessed the effectiveness of
our internal control over financial reporting as of March 1, 2008. In making this assessment, our management used the criteria
set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) in Internal Control-Integrated
Framework. Our management has concluded that, as of March 1, 2008, our internal control over financial reporting is effective
based on these criteria.
April 30, 2008