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The Board of Directors and Shareholders
Diebold, Incorporated
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of
Diebold, Incorporated and subsidiaries (Company) as of December
31, 2003 and 2002 and the related consolidated statements of income,
shareholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the
three-year period ended December 31, 2003. These consolidated financial
statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements referred
to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial
position of Diebold, Incorporated and subsidiaries as of December
31, 2003 and 2002, and the results of their operations and their
cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended
December 31, 2003, in conformity with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America.
As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements,
effective January 1, 2002, the Company adopted the provisions of
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142, Goodwill
and Other Intangible Assets.

KPMG LLP
Cleveland, Ohio
January 28, 2004 |
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