Burger King 2013 Annual Report Download - page 24

Table of Contents
our vendors could result in substantial fines, penalties and potential litigation against us which could negatively impact our results of operations and financial
condition. Furthermore, as a result of legislative and regulatory rules, we may be required to notify the owners of the personal information of any data
breaches, which could harm our reputation and financial results, as well as subject us to litigation or actions by regulatory authorities.


We rely heavily on our computer systems and network infrastructure across our operations including, but not limited to, point-of-sale processing at our
restaurants. Despite our implementation of security measures, all of our technology systems are vulnerable to damage, disability or failures due to physical
theft, fire, power loss, telecommunications failure or other catastrophic events, as well as from internal and external security breaches, denial of service
attacks, viruses, worms and other disruptive problems caused by hackers. If our technology systems were to fail, and we were unable to recover in a timely
way, we could experience an interruption in our operations. Furthermore, if unauthorized access to or use of our systems were to occur, data related to our
proprietary information could be compromised. The occurrence of any of these incidents could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial
condition and results of operations. To the extent that some of our worldwide reporting systems require or rely on manual processes, it could increase the risk
of a breach.
In addition, a number of our systems and processes are not fully integrated worldwide and, as a result, require us to manually estimate and consolidate
certain information that we use to manage our business. To the extent that we are not able to obtain transparency into our operations from our systems, it could
impair the ability of our management to react quickly to changes in the business or economic environment.

We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations. These laws and regulations govern, among other things,
discharges of pollutants into the air and water as well as the presence, handling, release and disposal of and exposure to, hazardous substances. These laws
and regulations provide for significant fines and penalties for noncompliance. If we fail to comply with these laws or regulations, we could be fined or
otherwise sanctioned by regulators. Third parties may also make personal injury, property damage or other claims against us associated with releases of, or
actual or alleged exposure to, hazardous substances at, on or from our properties.
Environmental conditions relating to prior, existing or future restaurants or restaurant sites, including franchised sites, may have a material adverse
effect on us. Moreover, the adoption of new or more stringent environmental laws or regulations could result in a material environmental liability to us and the
current environmental condition of the properties could be harmed by tenants or other third parties or by the condition of land or operations in the vicinity of
our properties.


We have outsourced certain administrative functions, including account payment and receivable processing, to a third-party service provider. We also
outsource certain information technology support services and benefit plan administration, and may outsource other functions in the future to achieve cost
savings and efficiencies. If the service providers to which we outsource these functions do not perform effectively, we may not be able to achieve the expected
cost savings and may have to incur additional costs in connection with such failure to perform. Depending on the function involved, such failures may also
lead to business disruption, transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, the loss of sales and customers, the loss of or damage to intellectual property through
security breach, and the loss of sensitive data through security breach or otherwise. Any such damage or interruption could have a material adverse effect on
our business, cause us to face significant fines, customer notice obligations or costly litigation, harm our reputation with our customers or prevent us from
paying our suppliers or employees or receiving payments on a timely basis.
22
Source: Burger King Worldwide, Inc., 10-K, February 21, 2014 Powered by Morningstar® Document Research℠
The information contained herein may not be copied, adapted or distributed and is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. The user assumes all risks for any damages or losses arising from any use of this
information, except to the extent such damages or losses cannot be limited or excluded by applicable law. Past financial performance is no guarantee of future results.