Home Depot 2002 Annual Report Download - page 43

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
financial 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
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 transac-
tions 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 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.
In addition, a telephonic meeting is held prior to each quarterly
earnings release. The Audit Committee retains the independent
auditors and regularly reviews 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.
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 2, 2003
and February 3, 2002 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 2, 2003. 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 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 position
of The Home Depot, Inc. and subsidiaries as of February 2, 2003
and February 3, 2002, and the results of their operations and their
cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended
February 2, 2003, in conformity with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America.
Atlanta, Georgia
February 24, 2003
THE HOME DEPOT, INC. 2002 ANNUAL REPORT 41