Estee Lauder 2008 Annual Report Download - page 112

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Management of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (including its subsidiaries) (the “Company”) is responsible for
establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over fi nancial reporting (as defi ned in Rules13a-15(f) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended).
A company’s internal control over fi nancial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
reliability of fi nancial reporting and the preparation of fi nancial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S.
generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over fi nancial reporting includes those policies
and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly refl ect the
transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are
recorded as necessary to permit preparation of fi nancial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted account-
ing principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations
of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely
detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the
fi nancial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over fi nancial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements.
Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures
may deteriorate.
Under the supervision of and with the participation of the Chief Executive Offi cer and the Chief Financial Offi cer, the
Company’s management conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over fi nancial
reporting based on the framework and criteria established in Internal Contro l — Integrated Framework, issued
by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this assessment, the
Company’s management has concluded that, as of June 30, 2008, the Company’s internal control over fi nancial reporting
was effective.
William P. Lauder Richard W. Kunes
Chief Executive Offi cer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Offi cer
August 21, 2008
MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
110 THE EST{E LAUDER COMPANIES INC.