Consumer Reports Inc.

“Consumers information: consumer reports publishes and disseminates information and advice to consumers regarding topics such as consumer goods, services, health and personal finance in order to effect it's educational purpose. The number of paid subscribers for each as of 5/31/18 include consumer reports magazine 3,388,677; consumer reports on health 565,114; and cr online 2,824,074. Consumer reports does not accept outside advertising in any of its publications. In addition, consumer reports disseminates consumer information through other print, radio, television, electronic publishing and interactive media. Product information: consumer reports conducts independent and impartial tests and analyses on a wide range of consumer products and services, such as electronics, appliances, household products, insurance, recreational goods, and cars. The tests and surveys evaluate how the products and services perform and educate consumers on the extent to which they are convenient, safe, and economical. During the fiscal year ended 5/31/18, consumer reports conducted tests and evaluations on more than 2,700 models of various consumer products, making use of about 60 laboratories and its auto track. The information gathered as result of these tests is disseminated to the general public as described above. Form 990, part iii, line 4b education and advocacy programs: consumer reports is dedicated to improving the lives of consumers and promoting a fairer, safer and healthier world. We are an independent nonprofit organization that seeks to educate consumers in order to drive a new era of consumer power and protection. For more than 80 years, we have built a legacy of trust among consumers by conducting rigorous science-based testing of products, championing the rights of consumers in the halls of government, moving corporate actors to provide consumers with greater transparency and safety, and helping consumers to navigate an increasingly complex marketplace. Additionally, consumer reports provides substantial free consumer education information as a public service through online advice, advocacy efforts, social media campaigns, and other efforts. Consumer reports' longstanding commitment to educating consumers and advocating for laws, policies and practices that benefit consumers is exemplified by our fy18 (june 1, 2017 through may 31, 2018) accomplishments, some of which include: rearview cameras now standard in every new car - starting in 2002 consumer reports measured the blind zones located behind cars and light-duty trucks. We alerted consumers, automakers, and the federal government to the growing problems with cars' rear visibility, pointing to these blind zones and the rising number of injuries and deaths in backover incidents. Many of these victims were small children and the elderly. Cr advocated for a 2008 federal law that said the u.s. Department of transportation must create requirements for automakers to install rearview visibility equipment in every new vehicle. When regulators repeatedly delayed the rule, cr joined with families of backover victims and safety organizations to sue the government in order to stop the delays. The day before the 2014 trial, the government ended the delay and implemented the requirement to be phased in over the next four years. In may 2018 the implementation was completed, and now all new vehicles produced for sale in the u.s. Come with rearview cameras as standard equipment. Self-driving cars - cr believes that self-driving cars have great potential to improve road safety and mobility for consumers. However, we are concerned about the efforts by manufacturers to bring these vehicles to market in the future without the necessary steps to ensure they are safe. We are working with lawmakers in congress to improve pending legislation that would accelerate the introduction of self-driving cars into the marketplace. We are advocating for stronger measures to be added to the legislation to ensure t”

“Federal policymakers are working on several fronts to roll back regulations for banks, lenders, and other financial institutions. Cr is pushing to preserve consumer protections provided by the dodd-frank financial reform law and carried out by agencies such as the consumer financial protection bureau. We are also working to preserve and advance lending rules set by the education department to curb abuses by for-profit colleges, as the current leadership of the education department seeks to weaken or eliminate these protections for students. Mergers - cr testified before congress about t-mobile's bid for sprint, telling lawmakers that the proposal would end the vigorous competition that exists between the two wireless providers, and that lack of competition could lead to higher prices for consumers. The merger is under federal review. Cr urged federal regulators to reject at&t's bid for time warner, which would combine one of the nation's largest video and wireless providers with one of its largest content producers, and cr said that could harm competition and consumer choice. The justice department sued to block the deal, and a judge ruled against justice to allow the merger to proceed. The justice department is now appealing that decision. Cr raised concerns about the proposed merger between the media companies sinclair broadcast group and tribune media, saying the combination would have allowed one company to own tv stations reaching nearly three-quarters of the country. Cr said this level of consolidation would have harmed competition and the diversity of media voices, and the company's increased power and leverage over tv programming could have led to higher prices for consumers. The fcc referred the merger to an administrative judge for review, and tribune withdrew from the deal. Changes to governing documents form 990, part vi, section a, line 4 changes to governing documents cr revised its bylaws to define "member" for new york not-for-profit law purposes to mean any individual who is a paid member of the consumer reports membership program as of the record date. Members, stockholders form 990, part vi, line 6 and 7a consumer reports is a new york state not-for-profit membership corporation. The members for new york not-for-profit law purposes are any individual with a paid membership to the consumer reports membership program. Members can elect the board of directors at the annual meeting of members; adopt, amend or repeal the by-laws of the corporation; call a special meeting of the members under certain circumstances; and exercise such other powers as are provided by law.”

“Form 990, PART VI, LINE 11 THE 990 IS PREPARED UTILIZING THE ASSISTANCE OF AN INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTING FIRM, KPMG. THE RELATED SERVICES FROM KPMG ARE APPROVED BY THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AS PART OF THE AUDIT APPROVAL PROCESS. AFTER THE 990 IS PREPARED BY CR FINANCE DEPARTMENT WITH COORDINATION WITH KPMG, IT IS REVIEWED BY THE CONTROLLER AND CFO BEFORE IT IS REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE AUDIT COMMITTEE. A COPY OF THE 990 IS THEN PROVIDED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRIOR TO ITS FILING.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 12c consumer reports' board of directors and staff members are required to fill out and sign a disclosure of interest statement and attestation of compliance each year. Board members' forms are reviewed by a committee of the board; staff members' forms are reviewed by an outside independent reviewer. Any conflicts will be addressed with the applicable board or staff member, with unresolved conflicts addressed by the appropriate conflict of interest committee. Remedies for conflicts of interest include recusal from participation in the matter giving rise to the conflict, disposing of an investment, termination of employment or resignation.”

“Form 990, part vi, lines 15a and 15b the governance committee of the board of directors reviews the compensation provided to cr's president and senior executive staff to ensure that they are consistent with cr's mission, are designed to attract and retain the high levels of leadership talent needed to achieve cr's operating plans, and are compliant with law. To that end, the governance committee (1) recommends to the executive committee of the board of directors compensation plans and pay levels for the president, taking into account peer group practices and any special considerations, as well as employment agreements; (2) reviews the compensation of the president and senior executive staff to ensure compliance with the irs intermediate sanction requirements; and (3) reviews and approves (a) for executives reporting directly to the president, any proposed compensation increase for the proposed compensation for any new hire and (b) for executives not reporting directly to the president, (i) any proposed compensation increase that exceeds the annual salary increase guidelines established by human resources and (ii) the proposed compensation for any new executive hire that exceeds the market median as reported in executive compensation studies conducted by a third party executive compensation consulting firm. The executive committee's recommendation on the president's compensation plans and pay levels is voted on by the full board of directors. Deliberations and decisions regarding the foregoing compensation arrangements are contemporaneously recorded in the organization's minutes. The foregoing process for establishing compensation for the indicated persons was last undertaken in april of 2018.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 19 consumer reports's annual financial statements are made available to the public on its website, www.consumerreports.org. Our governing documents, form 1023, and conflict of interest policy are available to the public upon request.”

“Part xi, line 8 cr adopted asc topic, revenue from contracts with customers (asc 606) with a date of initial application of june 1, 2017 utilizing the modified retrospective method, by recognizing the cumulative effect of initially applying asc 606 to the opening net assets balance at june 1, 2017. As a result, $17,388,000 of deferred promotional costs was written off as an adjustment to net assets. Other changes in net assets or fund balance part xi, line 9 unrealized gain interest rate swap $ 1,706,992 pension related changes $ 4,317,434 change in value of split interest agreement $ (430,085) rounding $ 732 ----------------- total other changes in net assets or fund balances $ 5,595,073”