Tyson Foods 2003 Annual Report Download - page 65

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Tyson Foods, Inc. 63
report of management
TYSON FOODS, INC. 2003 ANNUAL REPORT
REPORT OF MANAGEMENT
The management of Tyson Foods, Inc., (the Company)
has the responsibility of preparing the accompanying
financial statements and is responsible for their integrity
and objectivity. The statements were prepared in con-
formity with accounting principles generally accepted in
the United States applied on a consistent basis. Such
financial statements are necessarily based, in part, on
best estimates and judgments.
The Company maintains a system of internal accounting
controls and a program of internal auditing designed to
provide reasonable assurance that the Company’s assets
are protected and that transactions are executed in
accordance with proper authorization and are properly
recorded. This system of internal accounting controls
is continually reviewed and modified in response to
changing business conditions and operations and to
recommendations made by the independent auditors
and the internal auditors. The Company has a code of
conduct and an experienced full-time compliance officer.
The management of the Company believes that the
accounting and control systems provide reasonable
assurance that assets are safeguarded and financial
information is reliable.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors meets
regularly with the Company’s financial management and
counsel, with the Company’s internal auditors, and with
the independent auditors engaged by the Company. These
meetings include discussions of internal accounting
controls and the quality of financial reporting. The Audit
Committee has discussed with the independent auditors
matters required to be discussed by Statement of Auditing
Standards No. 61 (Communication with Audit Committees).
In addition, the Committee has discussed with the inde-
pendent auditors, the auditors’ independence from the
Company and its management, including the matters in
the written disclosures required by the Independence
Standards Board Standard No. 1 (Independence
Discussions with Audit Committees). The independent
auditors and the Internal Audit Department have free and
independent access to the Audit Committee to discuss
the results of their audits or any other matters relating to
the Company’s financial affairs.
Ernst & Young LLP, independent auditors, have audited
the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
November 19, 2003
John Tyson Steven Hankins
Chairman of the Board Executive Vice President
and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer