Nordstrom 2004 Annual Report Download - page 15

management reports
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Nordstrom, Inc.
We have audited management’s assessment, included in the
accompanying Management’s Report, that Nordstrom, Inc. and
subsidiaries (the “Company”) maintained effective internal control over
financial reporting as of January 29, 2005, based on criteria established
in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of
Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. 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 opinions.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process
designed by, or under the supervision of, the company’s principal
executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing
similar functions, and effected by the company’s board of directors,
management, and other personnel 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
auditors’ report on internal control over financial reporting
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transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of
financial statements 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.
Because of the inherent limitations of internal control over financial
reporting, including the possibility of collusion or improper management
override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may
not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Also, projections of any
evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control over financial
reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that the 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 Company maintained
effective internal control over financial reporting as of January 29, 2005,
is fairly stated, in all material respects, based on the criteria
established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.
Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects,
effective internal control over financial reporting as of January 29, 2005,
based on the criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated
Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated
financial statements as of and for the year ended January 29, 2005 of
the Company and our report dated April 7, 2005, expresses a unqualified
opinion on those financial statements.
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Seattle, Washington
April 7, 2005
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 the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 rules. Management
conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over
financial reporting based on the framework and criteria established in
Internal Control – Integrated Framework, issued by the Committee of
Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this
evaluation, management concluded that the company’s internal control
over financial reporting was effective as of January 29, 2005.
Management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control
over financial reporting as of January 29, 2005 has been audited by
Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting
firm, as stated in their report which is included herein.
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION
We are responsible for the preparation, integrity and fair presentation
of our financial statements and the other information that appears
in the annual report. The financial statements have been prepared in
accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States of America and include estimates based on our best judgment.
We maintain a comprehensive system of internal controls and
procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance, at an appropriate
cost-benefit relationship, that our financial information is accurate and
reliable, our assets are safeguarded and our transactions are executed
in accordance with established procedures.
Deloitte and Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting
firm, is retained to audit Nordstrom’s consolidated financial statements
and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of the company’s
internal control over financial reporting. Its accompanying reports are
based on audits conducted in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).
The Audit Committee, which is comprised of six independent directors,
meets regularly with our management, our internal auditors and the
independent registered public accounting firm to ensure that each is
properly fulfilling its responsibilities. The Committee oversees our
systems of internal control, accounting practices, financial reporting
and audits to ensure their quality, integrity and objectivity are sufficient
to protect shareholders’ investments.
Michael G. Koppel
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Blake W. Nordstrom
President