Barnes and Noble 1999 Annual Report Download - page 59

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 59 of the 1999 Barnes and Noble annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 62

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
The Board of Directors
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance
sheets of Barnes & Noble, Inc. and subsidiaries as of January
29, 2000 and January 30, 1999 and the related consolidated
statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash
flows for each of the three fiscal years in the period ended January
29, 2000. These financial statements are the responsibility of the
Company’s management. Our 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 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 Barnes & Noble, Inc. and its subsidiaries as of
January 29, 2000 and January 30, 1999 and the results of
their operations and their cash flows for each of the three fiscal
years in the period ended January 29, 2000, in conformity with
generally accepted accounting principles.
As discussed in Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements,
effective January 31, 1999, the Company changed its method
of accounting for pre-opening expenses.
New York, New York
March 16, 2000
BDO Seidman, LLP
1999 ANNUAL REPORT
58