Home Depot 2000 Annual Report Download - page 33

The Home Depot, Inc. and Subsidiaries
30
31
Management’s Responsibility for Financial Statements
The financial statements presented in this Annual Report have been
prepared with integrity and objectivity and are the responsibility of
the management of The Home Depot, Inc. These financial statements
have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting
principles and properly reflect certain estimates and judgments based
upon the best available information.
The Company maintains a system of internal accounting controls,
which is supported by an internal audit program and is designed to
provide reasonable assurance, at an appropriate cost, that the
Company’s assets are safeguarded and transactions are properly
recorded. This system is continually reviewed and modified in
response to changing business conditions and operations and as a
result of recommendations by the external and internal auditors. In
addition, the Company has distributed to associates its policies for
conducting business affairs in a lawful and ethical manner.
The financial statements of the Company have been audited by
KPMG LLP, independent auditors. Their accompanying report is based
upon an audit conducted in accordance with auditing standards gener-
ally accepted in the United States of America, including the related
review of internal accounting controls and financial reporting matters.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, consisting solely of
outside directors, meets quarterly with the independent auditors, the
internal auditors and representatives of management to discuss audit-
ing and financial reporting matters. The Audit Committee, acting on
behalf of the stockholders, maintains an ongoing appraisal of the
internal accounting controls, the activities of the outside auditors and
internal auditors and the financial condition of the Company. Both the
Company’s independent auditors and the internal auditors have free
access to the Audit Committee.
Dennis J. Carey Carol B. Tomé
Executive Vice President and Senior Vice President,
Chief Financial Officer Finance and Accounting
Independent Auditors’ Report
The Board of Directors and Stockholders
The Home Depot, Inc.:
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of
The Home Depot, Inc. and subsidiaries as of January 28, 2001 and
January 30, 2000 and the related consolidated statements of earn-
ings, stockholders’ equity and comprehensive income, and cash flows
for each of the years in the three-year period ended January 28, 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 gener-
ally 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 misstate-
ment. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence support-
ing 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
The Home Depot, Inc. and subsidiaries as of January 28, 2001 and
January 30, 2000, and the results of their operations and their cash
flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended January 28,
2001 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in
the United States of America.
Atlanta, Georgia
February 19, 2001