Home Depot 2004 Annual Report Download - page 43

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial
reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projec-
tions of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject
to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of
changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the
policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our opinion, management’s assessment that The Home Depot,
Inc. and subsidiaries maintained effective internal control over
financial reporting as of January 30, 2005, is fairly stated, in all
material respects, based on criteria established in Internal Control–
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Also, in our
opinion, The Home Depot, Inc. and subsidiaries maintained, in all
material respects, 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).
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States),
the Consolidated Balance Sheets of The Home Depot, Inc. and
subsidiaries as of January 30, 2005 and February 1, 2004, and
the related Consolidated Statements of Earnings, Stockholders’
Equity and Comprehensive Income, and Cash Flows for each of the
fiscal years in the three-year period ended January 30, 2005, and
our report dated March 11, 2005 expressed an unqualified opin-
ion on those consolidated financial statements.
KPMG LLP
Atlanta, Georgia
March 11, 2005
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 30, 2005
and February 1, 2004, and the related Consolidated Statements of
Earnings, Stockholders’ Equity and Comprehensive Income, and
Cash Flows for each of the fiscal years in the three-year period
ended January 30, 2005. These Consolidated Financial Statements
are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our respon-
sibility is to express an opinion on these Consolidated Financial
Statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits 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 the financial statements are
free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test
basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the finan-
cial 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 30, 2005
and February 1, 2004, and the results of their operations and their
cash flows for each of the fiscal years in the three-year period
ended January 30, 2005, in conformity with U.S. generally
accepted accounting principles.
As discussed in Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements,
effective February 3, 2003, the Company changed its method of
accounting for cash consideration received from a vendor to conform
to Emerging Issues Task Force No. 02-16 and adopted the fair value
method of recording stock-based compensation expense in accor-
dance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the effectiveness
of The Home Depot, Inc. and subsidiaries’ 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), and
our report dated March 11, 2005 expressed an unqualified opinion
on management’s assessment of, and the effective operation of,
internal control over financial reporting.
KPMG LLP
Atlanta, Georgia
March 11, 2005
Reports of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm (continued)
41The Home Depot, Inc.