Home Depot 2001 Annual Report Download - page 37

35The Home Depot, Inc. and Subsidiaries
MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSIBILITY FOR
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The financial statements presented in this Annual Report have
been prepared with integrity and objectivity and are the respon-
sibility of the management of The Home Depot, Inc. These finan-
cial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America and
properly reflect certain estimates and judgments based upon the
best available information.
The Company maintains a system of internal accounting con-
trols, 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 oper-
ations 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 generally 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 five times a year with the inde-
pendent auditors, the internal auditors and representatives of
management to discuss auditing and financial reporting matters.
The Audit Committee, acting on behalf of the stockholders, main-
tains 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 inde-
pendent auditors and the internal auditors have free access to the
Audit Committee.
Carol B. Tomé
Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
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 February 3, 2002
and January 28, 2001 and the related consolidated statements of
earnings, stockholders’equity and comprehensive income, and
cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended
February 3, 2002. These consolidated financial statements are the
responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility
is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial state-
ments based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing stan-
dards 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 posi-
tion of The Home Depot, Inc. and subsidiaries as of February 3,
2002 and January 28, 2001, and the results of their operations and
their cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period
ended February 3, 2002 in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America.
Atlanta, Georgia
February 26, 2002