Lowe's 2007 Annual Report Download - page 29

LOWE’S 2007 ANNUAL REPORT |27
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
Mooresville, North Carolina
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Lowe’s
Companies, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of February 1, 2008
and February 2, 2007, and the related consolidated statements of earnings,
shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three fiscal years in the
period ended February 1,2008.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 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 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, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of the Company at February 1,2008 and
February 2, 2007,and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each
of the three fiscal years in the period ended February 1, 2008,in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the Company’s
internal control over financial reporting as of February 1, 2008, based on the
criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and
our report dated April 1, 2008 expressed an unqualified opinion on the
Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Charlotte, North Carolina
April 1, 2008
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
Mooresville, North Carolina
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Lowe’s
Companies,Inc.and subsidiaries (the“Company”) as of February 1, 2008 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, included in the accompanying
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on 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, assessing the risk that a material weakness
exists,testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal
control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures
as we considered necessary in the circumstances.We believe that our audit
provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
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 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 manage-
ment 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 effective-
ness 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,the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective
internal control over financial reporting as of February 1, 2008,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 fiscal year ended February 1,2008 of
the Company and our report dated April 1, 2008 expressed an unqualified
opinion on those financial statements.
Charlotte, North Carolina
April 1, 2008