Examine the auditors’ report provided as part of the 2002 annual report of Nike, Inc., and answer the following questions.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Nike, Inc.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements listed in the index appearing under Item 14(A)(1) on page 55 present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Nike, Inc. and its subsidiaries at May 31, 2002 and 2001, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended May 31, 2002 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the financial statement schedule listed in the index appearing under Item 14(A)(2) on page 55 presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein when read in conjunction with the related consolidated financial statements. These financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management; our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, which 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, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, effective June 1, 2001, the Company changed its method of accounting for derivative instruments in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133 Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities and Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 138, Accounting for Certain Derivative Instruments and Certain Hedging Activities.
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP
Portland, Oregon
June 27, 2002

Required
A. Who was Nike’s external auditor? What date did the auditor complete its audit work?
B. What was the auditor’s responsibility with respect to the company’s financial statements? What was the responsibility of management?
C. What kind of opinion did Nike’s auditors issue? Why is this opinion important to the company?