CVS » Topics » Change in Principal Accounting Firm

This excerpt taken from the CVS DEF 14A filed Mar 28, 2008.

Change in Principal Accounting Firm

KPMG LLP (“KPMG”) was previously the principal accountants for the Company. On September 26, 2007, KPMG was dismissed as the Company’s principal accountants. The decision to change accountants was made by the Audit Committee at a meeting held on September 25, 2007, and followed the Audit Committee’s review, as part of its corporate governance practices, of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm.

During the fifty-two week periods ended December 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, and the subsequent interim period through September 26, 2007, there were no: (1) disagreements with KPMG on any matter of accounting principle or practice, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure that, if not resolved to KPMG’s satisfaction, would have caused it to make reference in connection with their opinion to the subject matter of the disagreement, or (2) reportable events as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K.

The audit reports of KPMG on the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of and for the fifty-two week periods ended December 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor were they qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principles, except as follows: KPMG’s report on the consolidated financial statements of the Company as of and for the fifty-two week periods ended December 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 contained a separate paragraph stating that “As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, CVS Corporation adopted the provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004), “Share-Based Payment”, effective January 1, 2006.”

The audit reports of KPMG on management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005 did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor were they modified or qualified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principles.

The Company furnished a copy of the above disclosures to KPMG and requested that KPMG provide a letter addressed to the SEC stating whether or not it agrees with the statements made above. Such letter was filed as an exhibit to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company on October 1, 2007.

Also on September 25, 2007, the Audit Committee determined to engage Ernst & Young as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm commencing with audit services for the fiscal quarter ending September 29, 2007.

Ernst & Young served as the independent registered public accounting firm for Caremark prior to Caremark’s merger with CVS in March 2007. Other than with respect to Ernst & Young’s role as independent registered public accounting firm for Caremark in the case of clause (i) below, during the fifty-two week periods ended December 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, and the subsequent interim period through September 26, 2007, neither the Company, nor anyone acting on its behalf, consulted with Ernst & Young with respect to either (i) the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, and no written report or oral advice was provided by Ernst & Young to the Company that Ernst & Young concluded was an important factor considered by the Company in

 

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reaching a decision as to the accounting, auditing, or financial reporting issue or (ii) any matter that was the subject of either a disagreement as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K or a reportable event as described in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K.

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