Willis Voluntarily Certifies Results

By Daniel Hays

NU Online News Service, Aug. 14, 4:20 p.m. EST?Willis Group Holdings Ltd., the London-based global insurance broker, said today that its management had voluntarily certified their financial statements even though the corporate governance law passed last month does not require it.

A representative for the company, Dan Prince, said Willis was exempt because its legally-listed headquarters is in Bermuda rather than the United States, less than half of its assets are maintained in the United States, and less than half its stock is held by U.S. residents.

Willis said that Joe Plumeri, its chairman and chief executive officer, and Tom Colraine, its chief financial officer, have certified the company's Form 20-F for 2001 and Form 6-K reports for the first and second quarters of 2002 as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Willis said that with recent, widespread concern about companies' accounting practices, it was certifying results to "assure the investment community, clients and associates of the integrity of its reported financial results."

"Investor confidence has been severely shaken, and CEOs and CFOs have an obligation to shareholders and their employees that transcends a narrow reading of these statutory requirements," Mr. Plumeri said.

He added that company officers are "entrusted with people's livelihoods and their savings; we must, at all times, conduct ourselves with the highest ethical standards. If top managers do not have the confidence to stand behind their numbers, how can they expect others to believe in their personal integrity and invest in the company?"

Mr. Plumeri has said previously in public statements, the company noted, that he will never sell a single share of Willis stock while employed by the company. As he said then, "It would be hypocritical of me to sell the stock when I am advocating that others buy it."

Willis noted that Mr. Plumeri has also expressed his belief that top executives at publicly traded firms, including chief executives, should be prohibited from selling shares in their own companies while they run those firms.

The company said a link to the certifications as filed will be posted tomorrow on the Investor Relations section of the company's Web site, www.willis.com.

Willis Group Holdings has over 300 offices worldwide with 13,000 associates serving clients in 180 countries. Willis returned to public ownership in June 2001 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Willis Voluntarily Certifies Results

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