Nordstrom 1999 Annual Report Download - page 51

49NORDSTROM, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management Report
The accompanying consolidated financial statements,
including the notes thereto, and the other financial infor-
mation presented in this Annual R eport have been pre-
pared by management.The financial statements have been
prepared in accordance with generally accepted account-
ing principles and include amounts that are based upon
our best estimates and judgments. Management is respon-
sible for the consolidated financial statements, as well as
the other financial information in this Annual R eport.
The Company maintains an effective system of internal
accounting control. We believe that this system provides
reasonable assurance that transactions are executed in
accordance with management authorization, and that
they are appropriately recorded, in order to permit
preparation of financial statements in conformity with
generally accepted accounting principles and to ade-
quately safeguard, verify and maintain accountability for
assets. The concept of reasonable assurance is based on
the recognition that the cost of a system of internal con-
trol should not exceed the benefits derived.
The consolidated financial statements and related notes
have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, independ-
ent certified public accountants.The accompanying audi-
tors’ report expresses an independent professional opin-
ion on the fairness of presentation of management’s
financial statements.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is com-
posed of the outside directors, and is responsible
for recommending the independent certified public
accounting firm to be retained for the coming year,
subject to shareholder approval. The Audit Committee
meets periodically with the independent auditors, as well
as with management and the internal auditors, to review
accounting, auditing, internal accounting controls and
financial reporting matters. The independent auditors
and the internal auditors also meet privately with the
Audit Committee.
Michael A. Stein
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial O fficer
Independent Auditors’ Report
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance
sheets of Nordstrom, Inc. and subsidiaries (the
“Company”) as of January 31, 2000 and 1999, and the
related consolidated statements of earnings, shareholders’
equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the
period ended January 31, 2000. These financial state-
ments are the responsibility of the Company’s manage-
ment. O ur responsibility is to express an opinion on
these financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with generally
accepted auditing standards. 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 dis-
closures 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 accompanying consolidated financial
statements present fairly, in all material respects, the
financial position of Nordstrom, Inc. and subsidiaries as
of January 31, 2000 and 1999, and the results of their
operations and their cash flows for each of the three years
in the period ended January 31, 2000, in conformity
with generally accepted accounting principles.
As discussed in Note 1, the accompanying financial
statements have been restated to reflect an accrual for
sales returns.
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Seattle,Washington; March 10, 2000
Management and Independent Auditors’ Reports