Dollar General 2003 Annual Report Download - page 25

REPORT OF MANAGEMENT
The management of Dollar General Corporation is responsible for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements and
other information contained in this Annual Report to Shareholders. The financial statements were prepared in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles and include amounts that are necessarily based upon management’s best estimates and
judgments, as appropriate. The Company’s independent auditors, Ernst & Young LLP, consider the Company’s internal control
systems for the purpose of determining the nature, timing and extent of procedures necessary for expressing an independent
opinion as to the fairness of the presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Their report is presented below.
The Company maintains internal control systems, policies and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that assets
are safeguarded, transactions are executed in accordance with management’s authorization and properly recorded, and accounting
records may be relied upon for the preparation of financial information. The internal control systems, including an internal audit
function, contain self-monitoring mechanisms and actions are taken to correct deficiencies as they are identified. Even an effective
internal control system, no matter how well designed, has inherent limitations and, therefore, can provide only reasonable
assurance with respect to financial statement preparation.
The Board of Directors has an Audit Committee comprised entirely of outside directors. The Audit Committee meets periodically
and independently with management, internal auditors and Ernst & Young LLP to discuss and review the Company’s consolidated
financial statements and internal controls. In addition, the full Board of Directors regularly reviews management reports covering
all aspects of the Company’s financial condition. Both the internal auditors and Ernst & Young LLP have unrestricted access to the
Audit Committee.
David A. Perdue James J. Hagan
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
March 16, 2004
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of
Dollar General Corporation
Goodlettsville, Tennessee
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Dollar General Corporation and subsidiaries as of January 30,
2004 and January 31, 2003, and the related consolidated statements of income, shareholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the
three years in the period ended January 30, 2004. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management.
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the 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 mis-
statement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial state-
ments. 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 Dollar General Corporation and subsidiaries as of January 30, 2004 and January 31, 2003, and the consolidated results of their
operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended January 30, 2004, in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States.
Nashville, Tennessee
March 11, 2004
Reports
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