Let A be a linear bounded operator in a Hilbert space H, N(A) and R(A) its null-space and range, and A∗ its adjoint. The operator A is called Fredholm iff dim N(A) = dim N(A∗) := n < ∞ and R(A) and R(A∗) are closed subspaces of H. A simple and short proof is given of the following known result: A is Fredholm iff A = B + F , where B is an isomorphism and F is a finite-rank operator. The proof consists in reduction to a finite-dimensional linear algebraic system which is equivalent to the equation Au = f in the case of Fredholm operators.