both historical and projected future operating results, the reversal of existing taxable temporary differences, taxable income in prior carryback years (if permitted) and the availability of tax planning strategies. A valuation allowance is required to be established unless management determines that it is more likely than not that the Company will ultimately realize the tax benefit associated with a deferred tax asset. 

Additionally, undistributed earnings of a subsidiary are accounted for as a temporary difference, except that deferred tax liabilities are not recorded for undistributed earnings of a foreign subsidiary that are deemed to be indefinitely reinvested in the foreign jurisdiction. The Company has formulated a specific plan for reinvestment of undistributed earnings of its foreign subsidiaries which demonstrates that such earnings will be indefinitely reinvested in the applicable tax jurisdictions. Should we change our plans, we would be required to record a significant amount of deferred tax liabilities. 

The Company's effective tax rate is expected to be approximately 23.0 percent to 24.0 percent in 2009. This estimated tax rate does not reflect the impact of any unusual or special items that may affect our tax rate in 2009. 

Contingencies 

Our Company is subject to various claims and contingencies, mostly related to legal proceedings and tax matters (both income taxes and indirect taxes). Due to their nature, such legal proceedings and tax matters involve inherent uncertainties including, but not limited to, court rulings, negotiations between affected parties and governmental actions. Management assesses the probability of loss for such contingencies and accrues a liability and/or discloses the relevant circumstances, as appropriate. Management believes that any liability to the Company that may arise as a result of currently pending legal proceedings, tax matters or other contingencies will not have a material adverse effect on the financial condition of the Company taken as a whole. Refer to Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. 

Recent Accounting Standards and Pronouncements 

Refer to Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of recent accounting standards and pronouncements. 

Operations Review 

We manufacture, distribute and market nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. We also manufacture, distribute and market finished beverages. Our organizational structure as of December 31, 2008, consisted of the following operating segments, the first six of which are sometimes referred to as "operating groups" or "groups": Eurasia and Africa; Europe; Latin America; North America; Pacific; Bottling Investments; and Corporate. We revised previously reported group information to conform to our operating structure in effect as of December 31, 2008. For further information regarding our operating segments, including a discussion of changes made to our operating segments effective July 1, 2008, refer to Note 21 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. 

Beverage Volume 

We measure our sales volume in two ways: (1) unit cases of finished products and (2) concentrate