eBay 2004 Annual Report Download - page 89

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 89 of the 2004 eBay annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 134

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128
  • 129
  • 130
  • 131
  • 132
  • 133
  • 134

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of eBay Inc.:
We have completed an integrated audit of eBay Inc.'s 2004 consolidated Ñnancial statements and of its
internal control over Ñnancial reporting as of December 31, 2004 and audits of its 2003 and 2002 consolidated
Ñnancial statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States). Our opinions, based on our audits, are presented below.
Consolidated Ñnancial statements and Ñnancial statement schedule
In our opinion, the consolidated Ñnancial statements listed in the index appearing under Item 15(a)
(1) on page 84 present fairly, in all material respects, the Ñnancial position of eBay Inc. and its subsidiaries at
December 31, 2004 and 2003, and the results of their operations and their cash Öows for each of the three
years in the period ended December 31, 2004 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in
the United States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the Ñnancial statement schedule listed in the index
appearing under Item 15(a) (2) on page 84 presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth
therein when read in conjunction with the related consolidated Ñnancial statements. These Ñnancial
statements and Ñnancial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on these Ñnancial statements and Ñnancial statement schedule based on
our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements 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 Ñnancial statements are free of material
misstatement. An audit of Ñnancial statements includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the
amounts and disclosures in the Ñnancial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and signiÑcant
estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall Ñnancial statement presentation. We believe that
our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
As discussed in Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, eÅective July 1, 2003 the Company
adopted the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board Interpretation No. 46, ""Consolidation of
Variable Interest Entities Ì an interpretation of ARB 51''.
Internal control over Ñnancial reporting
Also, in our opinion, management's assessment, included in Management's Report on Internal Control
Over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A, that the Company maintained eÅective internal control
over Ñnancial reporting as of December 31, 2004 based on criteria established in Internal Control Ì
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission
(COSO), is fairly stated, in all material respects, based on those criteria. Furthermore, in our opinion, the
Company maintained, in all material respects, eÅective internal control over Ñnancial reporting as of
December 31, 2004, based on criteria established in Internal Control Ì Integrated Framework issued by the
COSO. The Company's management is responsible for maintaining eÅective internal control over Ñnancial
reporting and for its assessment of the eÅectiveness of internal control over Ñnancial reporting. Our
responsibility is to express opinions on management's assessment and on the eÅectiveness of the Company's
internal control over Ñnancial reporting based on our audit. We conducted our audit of internal control over
Ñnancial reporting 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 eÅective internal control over Ñnancial reporting was maintained in all material respects. An
audit of internal control over Ñnancial reporting includes obtaining an understanding of internal control over
Ñnancial reporting, evaluating management's assessment, testing and evaluating the design and operating
eÅectiveness of internal control, and performing such other procedures as we consider necessary in the
circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinions.
A company's internal control over Ñnancial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of Ñnancial reporting and the preparation of Ñnancial statements for external
87