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HSY » Topics » Item 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

This excerpt taken from the HSY 10-K filed Feb 19, 2008.

Item 9. CHANGES IN AND
DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

None.

STYLE="margin-top:18px;margin-bottom:0px">Item 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

SIZE="2">As required by Rule 13a-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), the Company conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s disclosure controls and
procedures as of December 31, 2007. This evaluation was carried out under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Based upon
that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective. There has been no change during the most recent fiscal quarter in the Company’s
internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation that has materially affected, or is likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px; text-indent:4%">Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the
Company’s reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures
include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s reports filed under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Company’s
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

The
Company’s Common Stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “HSY.” On May 8, 2007, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard H. Lenny, certified to the NYSE pursuant to
Rule 303A.12(a) that, as of the date of that certification, he was not aware of any violation by the Company of the NYSE’s Corporate Governance listing standards.

FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">On November 13, 2007, we received a notice from NYSE Regulation, Inc. stating that the Company was deficient in meeting the requirements of the following sections of the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company
Manual:

303A.01—The Company does not have a majority of independent directors serving on the Board of Directors of the Company (the
“Company Board”).

303A.04(a)—The Company does not have any independent directors serving on the Nominating Committee of the
Company Board.

303A.07(a)—The Company does not have three members serving on the Audit Committee of the Company Board.

STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px; text-indent:4%">303A.07(a)—The Company does not have an audit committee with financial management expertise.

STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px; text-indent:4%">On November 16, 2007, we notified the NYSE that we had cured all of the above deficiencies. The items listed above had arisen as the result of the
November 11, 2007 changes in the composition of our Board of Directors.


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MANAGEMENT REPORT ON
INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

The management of The Hershey Company is responsible for establishing and maintaining
adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). The Company’s internal control system was designed to provide reasonable assurance to the Company’s management and Board of
Directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements.

All internal control systems, no matter how
well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.

STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px; text-indent:4%">The Company’s management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, assessed the effectiveness of the
Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007. In making this assessment, the Company’s management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission
(COSO) in Internal Control—Integrated Framework. Based on this assessment, management believes that, as of December 31, 2007, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective based on those criteria.


 




























LOGO		  



LOGO

David J. West

SIZE="1">Chief Executive Officer

  

Humberto P. Alfonso

FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="1">Chief Financial Officer


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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT
REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The Board of Directors and Stockholders

FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">The Hershey Company:

We have audited The Hershey Company and subsidiaries (the “Company”)
internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The
Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying management report on
internal control over financial reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.

FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="2">We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and
testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit
provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide
reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial
reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide
reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting 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 financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial 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.

In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial
reporting as of December 31, 2007, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px; text-indent:4%">We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets
of The Hershey Company as of December 31, 2007 and 2006, and the related consolidated statements of income, cash flows and stockholders’ equity for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2007, and our report
dated February 18, 2008 expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements.

 

STYLE="margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:54%; text-indent:-2%">

LOGO

New York, New York

SIZE="2">February 18, 2008


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