12 penalties as a result of such tax audits, which could have a potential negative impact on our future financial results, cash flows and financial position. • Changes in industry standards and regulatory requirements may adversely af fect our business. Our global business is subject to the requirements of federal, state, local and foreign regulatory authorities as well as industry standard-setting authorities. Changes in the standards and requirements imposed by such authorities could have an adverse ef fect on us. In the event that we are unable to meet any such new or modified standards when adopted, our business could be adversely af fected. In addition, changes in the legislative environment could af fect the growth and other aspects of important markets served by us. The wire and cable industry growth has been partially driven by ener gy related legislation, including alternative and renewable ener gy sources, investment incentives for utilities and government infrastructure spending. Although we believe legislative ef forts overall have a positive impact on our business and financial results, we cannot be certain that this impact will continue. Further , we cannot predict the impact, either positive or negative, that changes in laws or industry standards may have on our future financial results, cash flows or financial position. • Failure to properly execute large customer projects may negatively impact our ability to obtain similar contracts in the future and may result in substantial financial penalties. In recent years, primarily in Europe, we have been awarded several lar ge turn-key projects for specific customers. These projects involve numerous challenges associated with lar ge long-term contracts and the contracts related to these projects generally include substantial financial penalties for non-performance on our part. These projects are milestones for us as we work to increase our market share through successful execution of contracts for medium-voltage infield array projects and high-voltage export projects as well as under ground terrestrial high-voltage projects. In addition, the terrestrial and submarine transmission cable markets in Europe, which are being driven by lar ge investments in grid interconnections and alternative ener gy such as of fshore wind power , represent an attractive long-term opportunity for us. The success of our execution of lar ge turn-key projects is important to our long-term success in this market. • Interruptions of supplies from key suppliers may af fect our results of operations and financial performance. Interruptions of supplies from our key suppliers, including results from catastrophes such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods or terrorist activities, could disrupt production or impact our ability to increase or maintain production and sales. All copper and aluminum rod used in our North American operations is externally sourced, and our lar gest supplier of copper rod accounted for approximately 90% of our North American purchases in 2012 while our lar gest supplier of aluminum rod accounted for approximately 70% of our North American purchases in 2012 . Our European operations purchase copper and aluminum rod from many suppliers with each supplier generally providing a small percentage of the total copper and aluminum rod purchased while operations in ROW internally produce the majority of copper and aluminum rod for production needs and obtain cathode and ingots from various sources with each supplier generally providing a small percentage of the total amount of raw materials purchased. Any unanticipated problems with our copper or aluminum rod suppliers could have a material adverse ef fect on our business. Additionally , we use a limited number of sources for most of the other raw materials that we do not produce. W e do not have long-term or volume purchase agreements with most of our suppliers, and may have limited options in the short-term for alternative supply if these suppliers fail to continue the supply of material or components for any reason, including their business failure, inability to obtain raw materials or financial dif ficulties. Moreover , identifying and accessing alternative sources may increase our costs. • W e source and sell products globally and are exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. W e manufacture and sell products and finance operations throughout the world and are exposed to the impact of foreign currency fluctuations on our results of operations. Also, our consolidated financial results are presented in U.S. dollars; therefore, a change in the value of currencies may adversely impact our net financial statements after currency remeasurements and translation to U.S. dollars. In addition, devaluations of currencies, such as the devaluation of the V enezuelan Bolivar in 2013, could negatively af fect the value of our earnings from, and the assets located, in those markets. Although we hedge certain foreign currency transactions, there is still risk associated with changes in foreign currency exchange rates. See Note 23 - Subsequent Events for further discussion regarding the devaluation of the V enezuelan Bolivar . • Compliance with foreign and U.S. laws and regulations applicable to our international operations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCP A") and other applicable anti-corruption laws, may increase the cost of doing business in international jurisdictions. V arious laws and regulations associated with our current international operations are complex and increase our cost of doing business. Furthermore, these laws and regulations expose us to fines and penalties if we fail to comply with them. These laws and regulations include import and export requirements, U.S. laws such as the FCP A, and local laws prohibiting payments to governmental of ficials and other corrupt practices. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure T able of Contents