Financial Statements  2001

AUDITOR'S report

Board of Governors
United States Postal Service

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of the United States Postal Service as of September 30, 2001 and 2000, and the related statements of operations, changes in net capital deficiency and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 30, 2001. These financial statements are the responsibility of the United States Postal Service'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 and the standards for financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. 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 referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the United States Postal Service at September 30, 2001 and 2000, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 30, 2001, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

In accordance with Government Auditing Standards, we have issued our report dated November 9, 2001, on our consideration of the United States Postal Service's internal control over financial reporting and on our tests of its compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grants. That report is an integral part of an audit performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards and should be read in conjunction with this report when considering the results of our audit.

Washington, D.C.
November 9, 2001