Costco 2002 Annual Report Download - page 22

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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders:
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Costco Wholesale Corporation and sub-
sidiaries as of September 1, 2002 and the related consolidated statements of income, stockholders’ equity and
cash flows for the 52 weeks then ended. These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the
Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements
based on our audit. The accompanying consolidated financial statements of Costco Wholesale Corporation and
subsidiaries as of September 2, 2001 and for the 52 weeks ended September 2, 2001 and the 53 weeks ended
September 3, 2000 were audited by other auditors who have ceased operations. Those auditors expressed an un-
qualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements in their report dated October 8, 2001.
We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of
America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on
a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. An audit
also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as
evaluating the overall consolidated financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reason-
able basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects,
the consolidated financial position of Costco Wholesale Corporation and subsidiaries as of September 1, 2002,
and the results of their operations and their cash flows for the 52 weeks then ended in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Seattle, Washington
October 10, 2002
21