Target 2003 Annual Report Download - page 42

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Report of Independent Auditors
Board of Directors and Shareholders
Target Corporation
We have audited the accompanying consolidated statements of
financial position of Target Corporation and subsidiaries as of
January 31, 2004 and February 1, 2003 and the related consolidated
results of operations, cash flows and shareholders’ investment for
each of the three years in the period ended January 31, 2004. These
financial statements are the responsibility of the Corporation’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 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 financial statements referred to above
present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial
position of Target Corporation and subsidiaries at January 31, 2004
and February 1, 2003 and the consolidated results of their
operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the
period ended January 31, 2004 in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
February 19, 2004
Report of Management
Management is responsible for the consistency, integrity and
presentation of the information in the Annual Report. The consoli-
dated financial statements and other information presented in this
Annual Report have been prepared in accordance with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States and include
necessary judgments and estimates by management.
To fulfill our responsibility, we maintain comprehensive systems
of internal control designed to provide reasonable assurance that
assets are safeguarded and transactions are executed in accordance
with established procedures. The concept of reasonable assurance
is based upon a recognition that the cost of the controls should
not exceed the benefit derived. We believe our systems of internal
control provide this reasonable assurance.
The Board of Directors exercises its oversight role with respect
to the Corporation’s systems of internal control primarily through
its Audit Committee, which is comprised of five independent
directors. The Committee oversees the Corporation’s systems of
internal control, accounting practices, financial reporting and audits
to assess whether their quality, integrity and objectivity are
sufficient to protect shareholders’ investments. The Committee’s
report appears on this page.
In addition, our consolidated financial statements have been
audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent auditors, whose report
also appears on this page. As a part of its audit, Ernst & Young LLP
develops and maintains an understanding of the Corporation’s
internal accounting controls and conducts such tests and employs
such procedures as it considers necessary to render its opinion on
the consolidated financial statements. Their report expresses an
opinion as to the fair presentation, in all material respects, of the
consolidated financial statements and is based on independent
audits made in accordance with auditing standards generally
accepted in the United States.
Robert J. Ulrich Douglas A. Scovanner
Chairman of the Board and Executive Vice President and
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer
February 19, 2004
Report of Audit Committee
The Audit Committee met six times during fiscal 2003 to review
the overall audit scope, plans for internal and independent audits,
the Corporation’s systems of internal control, emerging accounting
issues, audit fees and benefit plans. The Committee also met
individually with the independent auditors, without management
present, to discuss the results of their audits. The Committee
encourages the internal and independent auditors to communicate
closely with the Committee.
Audit Committee results were reported to the full Board of
Directors and the Corporation’s annual financial statements were
reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors before issuance.
The Audit Committee also recommended to the Board of Directors
that the independent auditors be reappointed for fiscal 2004,
subject to the approval of the shareholders at the annual meeting.
February 19, 2004