E-Z-GO 2000 Annual Report Download - page 35

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Management is responsible for the integrity and objectivity of the financial data presented in this
Annual Report. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with account-
ing principles generally accepted in the United States and include amounts based on management’s
best estimates and judgments. The independent auditors, Ernst & Young LLP, have audited the con-
solidated financial statements and have considered the internal control structure to the extent they
believed necessary to support their report, which appears below.
We conduct our business in accordance with the standards outlined in the Textron Business Conduct
Guidelines which is communicated to all employees. Honesty, integrity and high ethical standards are
the core values of how we conduct business. Every Textron division prepares and carries out an
annual Compliance Plan to ensure these values and standards are maintained. Our internal control
structure is designed to provide reasonable assurance, at appropriate cost, that assets are safe-
guarded and that transactions are properly executed and recorded. The internal control structure
includes, among other things, established policies and procedures, an internal audit function, and the
selection and training of qualified personnel. Textron financial managers are responsible for imple-
menting effective internal control systems and monitoring their effectiveness, as well as developing
and executing an annual internal control plan.
The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors, on behalf of the shareholders, oversees manage-
ment’s financial reporting responsibilities. The Audit Committee, comprised of six directors who are
not officers or employees of the Company, meets regularly with the independent auditors, man-
agement and our internal auditors to review matters relating to financial reporting, internal accounting
controls and auditing. Both the independent auditors and the internal auditors have free and full
access to senior management and the Audit Committee.
Lewis B. Campbell Ted R. French
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
January 23, 2001
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders
Textron Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Textron Inc. as of December 30, 2000
and January 1, 2000, and the related consolidated statements of income, cash flows and changes
in shareholders’ equity for each of the three years in the period ended December 30, 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 auditing standards generally accepted in the 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 exam-
ining, 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 financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the con-
solidated financial position of Textron Inc. at December 30, 2000 and January 1, 2000, and the consoli-
dated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended
December 30, 2000, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
As discussed in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements, in 2000 the Company changed
its method of accounting for pre-production costs in accordance with Emerging Issues Task Force
No. 99-5, “Accounting for Pre-Production Costs Related to Long-Term Supply Arrangements”.
Boston, Massachusetts
January 23, 2001
Report of Independent Auditors
Report of Management
33 TEXTRON 2000 ANNUAL REPORT