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We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Fisher Scientific
International Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”)
as of December 31, 2002 and 2001, and the related statements
of operations, cash flows, and changes in stockholders’
equity (deficit) and other comprehensive income (loss) for each
of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2002. 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 standards
generally accepted in the United States of America. 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 present fairly, in
all material respects, the financial position of Fisher Scientific
International Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2002
and 2001, and the results of their operations and their cash
flows for each of the three years in the period ended December
31, 2002 in conformity with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America.
As discussed in Note 3 to the financial statements, effective
January 1, 2002, the Company changed its method of accounting
for goodwill and intangible assets upon adoption of Statement
of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142, “Goodwill and
Other Intangible Assets.”
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New York, New York
January 28, 2003 (February 14, 2003 as to Note 23) |
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