Unilever 2003 Annual Report Download - page 139

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 139 of the 2003 Unilever annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 169

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128
  • 129
  • 130
  • 131
  • 132
  • 133
  • 134
  • 135
  • 136
  • 137
  • 138
  • 139
  • 140
  • 141
  • 142
  • 143
  • 144
  • 145
  • 146
  • 147
  • 148
  • 149
  • 150
  • 151
  • 152
  • 153
  • 154
  • 155
  • 156
  • 157
  • 158
  • 159
  • 160
  • 161
  • 162
  • 163
  • 164
  • 165
  • 166
  • 167
  • 168
  • 169

136 Unilever Annual Report & Accounts and Form 20-F 2003
Additional information for US investors
Unilever Group
Equity in earnings related to investments in joint ventures and associated companies
Under US GAAP, equity in earnings related to investments in joint ventures and associated companies would be disclosed on a single line
within the income statement. In particular, our share of the interest and taxation arising in respect of joint ventures and associated companies
would be reported on this line, rather than as part of the total interest and taxation charge for the Group. US GAAP equity in earnings related
to investments in joint ventures and associated companies were €(48) million for the year ended 31 December 2003 (2002: €(54) million;
2001: €(30) million).
Recently issued accounting pronouncements
In January 2003, the FASB issued Financial Interpretation No. 46 (FIN 46), ’Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities’ and in December 2003
issued a revised interpretation FIN 46R. Under these interpretations, certain entities known as variable interest entities must be consolidated
by the primary beneficiary of the entity. Certain measurement principles of these interpretations relating to new contracts entered into are
effective for Unilever’s 2003 financial statements. We are still evaluating FIN 46R.
Documents on display in the United States
Unilever files and furnishes reports and information with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and such reports and
information can be inspected and copied at the SEC’s public reference facilities in Washington DC, Chicago and New York. Certain of our
reports and other information that we file or furnish to the SEC are also available to the public over the internet on the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov.
Corporate governance
Both NV and PLC are listed on The New York Stock Exchange and must therefore comply with such of the requirements of US legislation, such
as The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, SEC regulations and the Listing Rules of The New York Stock Exchange as are applicable to foreign listed
companies. In some cases the requirements are mandatory and in other cases the obligation is to ’comply or explain’.
Unilever has complied with these requirements concerning corporate governance that were in force during 2003. Attention is drawn in
particular to the Report of the Audit Committee on page 69. Actions taken to ensure compliance that are not specifically disclosed elsewhere
or otherwise clear from reading this document include:
• the issue of a Code of Ethics for senior financial officers;
• the issue of instructions restricting the employment of former employees of the audit firm; and
• establishment of standards of professional conduct for US attorneys.
In each of these cases, existing practices have been revised and/or documented in such a way as to conform to the new requirements.
The Code of Ethics applies to the senior executive, financial and accounting officers and comprises the standards prescribed by the SEC, and
a copy has been posted on Unilever’s website at www.unilever.com/investorcentre/. The Code of Ethics comprises an extract of the relevant
provisions of Unilever’s Code of Business Principles and the more detailed rules of conduct that implement it. The only amendment to these
pre-existing provisions and rules that was made in preparing the Code of Ethics was made at the request of the Audit Committee and consisted
of a strengthening of the explicit requirement to keep proper accounting records. No waiver from any provision of the Code of Ethics was
granted to any of the persons falling within the scope of the SEC requirement in 2003.
Unilever has also taken into account the US requirements taking effect in 2004 and 2005 applicable to both foreign and US listed companies
in preparing the changes in its corporate governance arrangements that will be effective from the NV and PLC Annual General Meetings on
12 May 2004. Further information will be placed on Unilever’s website www.unilever.com/investorcentre/ following those meetings, and will
be reported in the Annual Report & Accounts and Form 20-F for 2004.