CVS 2003 Annual Report Download - page 49

(47)(47)
We are responsible for the preparation and integrity of the
consolidated financial statements appearing in this Annual
Report. The financial statements were prepared in conformity
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States of America and include certain amounts based on our
best estimates and judgments.
We are responsible for maintaining a system of internal
accounting controls and procedures to provide reasonable
assurance, at an appropriate cost/benefit relationship, that assets
are safeguarded and that transactions are authorized, recorded
and reported properly. Our internal accounting control system
is enhanced by periodic reviews by our internal auditors and
independent auditors, written policies and procedures and a
written Code of Conduct adopted by our Company’s Board
of Directors, applicable to all employees of our Company. In
addition, we have an internal Disclosure Committee, comprised
of management from each functional area within the Company,
which performs a separate review of our disclosure controls.
In our opinion, our Company’s internal accounting controls
provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded and
that the financial records are reliable for preparing financial
statements.
The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors, consisting
solely of independent directors, is responsible for monitoring
the Company’s accounting and reporting practices. The Audit
Committee meets periodically with management, the internal
auditors and the independent auditors to review matters
relating to the Company’s financial reporting, the adequacy
of internal accounting controls and the scope and results of
audit work. The internal auditors and independent auditors
have full and free access to the Audit Committee.
KPMG LLP, independent auditors, are appointed by the
Board of Directors and ratified by our Company’s shareholders.
They were engaged to render an opinion regarding the fair
presentation of our consolidated financial statements. Their
accompanying report is based upon an audit conducted in
accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the
United States of America and included a review of the system
of internal accounting controls to the extent they considered
necessary to support their opinion.
Thomas M. Ryan
Chairman of the Board, President and
Chief Executive Officer
David B. Rickard
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and
Chief Administrative Officer
February 6, 2004
KPMG LLP
Board of Directors and Shareholders
CVS Corporation:
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance
sheets of CVS Corporation and subsidiaries as of January 3,
2004 and December 28, 2002, and the related consolidated
statements of operations, shareholders’ equity, and cash flows
for the fifty-three week period ended January 3, 2004 and
the fifty-two week periods ended December 28, 2002 and
December 29, 2001. These consolidated financial statements
are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated
financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing
standards generally accepted in the United States of America.
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 consolidated financial statements referred
to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial
position of CVS Corporation and subsidiaries as of January 3,
2004, and December 28, 2002, and the results of their
operations and their cash flows for the fifty-three week period
ended January 3, 2004 and the fifty-two week periods ended
December 28, 2002 and December 29, 2001, in conformity
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States of America.
As discussed in Note 4 to the consolidated financial
statements, CVS Corporation and subsidiaries adopted the
provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, in 2002. As
discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements,
CVS Corporation and subsidiaries adopted the provisions of
Emerging Issues Task Force Issue No. 02-16, Accounting by
a Reseller for Cash Consideration received from a Vendor,
in 2003.
KPMG
KPMG LLP
Providence, Rhode Island
February 6, 2004
Management’s Responsibility for
Financial Reporting Independent Auditors’ Report