Napa Auto Parts 2003 Annual Report Download - page 21

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Genuine Parts Company
We have prepared the accompanying consolidated financial
statements and related information included herein for
the years ended December 31, 2003, 2002 and 2001. The
opinion of Ernst & Young LLP, the Company’s independent
auditors, on those financial statements is included herein.
The primary responsibility for the integrity of the financial
information included in this annual report rests with man-
agement. Such information was prepared in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles appropriate in
the circumstances based on our best estimates and judge-
ments and giving due consideration to materiality.
Genuine Parts Company maintains internal accounting control
systems which are adequate to provide reasonable assurance
that assets are safeguarded from loss or unauthorized use and
which produce records adequate for preparation of financial
information. The system and controls and compliance there-
with are reviewed by an extensive program of internal audits.
There are limits inherent in all systems of internal accounting
control based on the recognition that the cost of such a system
should not exceed the benefits to be derived. We believe the
Company’s system provides this appropriate balance.
The Audit Committee of Genuine Parts Company’s Board of
Directors is responsible for reviewing and monitoring the
Company’s financial reports and accounting practices to
ascertain that they are within acceptable limits of sound
practice in such matters. The membership of the Committee
consists of non-employee Directors. At periodic meetings,
the Audit Committee discusses audit and financial reporting
matters and the internal audit function with representatives
of financial management and with representatives from
Ernst & Young LLP.
JERRY W. NIX
Executive Vice President -
Finance and Chief Financial Officer
February 3, 2004
Board of Directors
Genuine Parts Company
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance
sheets of Genuine Parts Company and subsidiaries as of
December 31, 2003 and 2002, and the related consolidated
statements of income, shareholders’ equity, and cash flows
for each of the three years in the period ended December
31, 2003. 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 stan-
dards generally accepted in the United States. Those stan-
dards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the financial state-
ments 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 signifi-
cant 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 consolidated
financial position of Genuine Parts Company and subsidiaries
at December 31, 2003 and 2002, and the consolidated results
of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three
years in the period ended December 31, 2003, in conformity
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States.
As discussed in Note 1, effective January 1, 2003, the
Company adopted Emerging Issues Task Force Issue No. 02-
16, Accounting by a Customer (Including a Reseller) for
Certain Consideration Received from a Vendor. In addition,
as discussed in Note 2, effective January 1, 2002, the
Company adopted Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.
February 3, 2004
Atlanta, Georgia
REPORT OF MANAGEMENT
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS