The Coca-Cola Company and Subsidiaries


 
We are responsible for the preparation and integrity of the Consolidated Financial Statements appearing in our Annual Report. The financial statements were prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles appropriate in the circumstances and, accordingly, include certain amounts based on our best judgments and estimates. Financial information in this Annual Report is consistent with that in the financial statements.
We are responsible for maintaining a system of internal accounting controls and procedures to provide reasonable assurance, at an appropriate cost/benefit relationship, that assets are safeguarded and that transactions are authorized, recorded and reported properly. The internal accounting control system is augmented by a program of internal audits and appropriate reviews by management, written policies and guidelines, careful selection and training of qualified personnel and a written Code of Business Conduct adopted by our Company's Board of Directors, applicable to all employees of our Company and our subsidiaries. In our opinion, our Company's internal accounting controls provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded against material loss from unauthorized use or disposition and that the financial records are reliable for preparing financial statements and other data and for maintaining accountability of assets.
The Audit Committee of our Company's Board of Directors, composed solely of Directors who are not officers of our Company, meets with the independent auditors, management and internal auditors periodically to discuss internal accounting controls and auditing and financial reporting matters. The Committee reviews with the independent auditors the scope and results of the audit effort. The Committee also meets periodically with the independent auditors and the chief internal auditor without management present to ensure that the independent auditors and the chief internal auditor have free access to the Committee.
The independent auditors, Ernst & Young LLP, are recommended by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, selected by the Board of Directors and ratified by our Company's share owners. Ernst & Young LLP is engaged to audit the Consolidated Financial Statements of The Coca-Cola Company and subsidiaries and conduct such tests and related procedures as it deems necessary in conformity with generally accepted auditing standards. The opinion of the independent auditors, based upon their audits of the Consolidated Financial Statements, is contained in this Annual Report.
M. Douglas Ivester
Chairman, Board of Directors,
and Chief Executive Officer
James E. Chestnut
Senior Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer
Gary P. Fayard
Vice President
and Controller
January 25, 1999
 
 

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