Home Depot 2004 Annual Report Download - page 42

Management’s Responsibility for
Financial Statements
Reports of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm
40
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 state-
ments have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally
accepted accounting principles and properly reflect certain esti-
mates and judgments based upon the best available information.
The financial statements of the Company have been audited by
KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm. Their
accompanying report is based upon an audit conducted in accor-
dance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States).
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, consisting solely of
outside directors, meets five times a year with the independent
registered public accounting firm, the internal auditors and repre-
sentatives of management to discuss auditing and financial report-
ing matters. In addition, a telephonic meeting is held prior to each
quarterly earnings release. The Audit Committee retains the inde-
pendent registered public accounting firm and regularly reviews
the internal accounting controls, the activities of the independent
registered public accounting firm and internal auditors and the
financial condition of the Company. Both the Company’s inde-
pendent registered public accounting firm and the internal auditors
have free access to the Audit Committee.
Management’s Report on Internal
Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining
adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is
defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a–15(f). Under the supervision
and with the participation of our management, including our prin-
cipal executive officer and principal financial officer, we conducted
an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over finan-
cial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control –
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on our
evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control
over financial reporting was effective as of January 30, 2005. Our
management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal
control over financial reporting as of January 30, 2005 has been
audited by KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting
firm, as stated in its report which is included herein.
Robert L. Nardelli Carol B. Tomé
Chairman, President & Executive Vice President &
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer
Kelly H. Barrett
Vice President
Corporate Controller
The Board of Directors and Stockholders
The Home Depot, Inc.:
We have audited management’s assessment, included in the
accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over
Financial Reporting, that The Home Depot, Inc. and subsidiaries
maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of
January 30, 2005, based on criteria established in Internal Control –
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s
management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control
over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of
internal control over financial reporting. Our responsibility is to express
an opinion on management’s assessment and an opinion on the
effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial
reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over
financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our
audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over
financial reporting, evaluating management’s assessment, testing
and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal
control and performing such other procedures as we considered
necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides
a reasonable basis for our opinion.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process
designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability
of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements
for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial
reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to
the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately
and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of
the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions
are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial state-
ments in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles,
and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made
only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors
of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding
prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or
disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material
effect on the financial statements.