and penalties. The remaining $171 million, which was recorded as a deferred tax asset, primarily represents tax benefits that would be received in different tax jurisdictions in the event the Company did not prevail on all uncertain tax positions. Refer to Note 14 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. 

The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense. The Company had $110 million, $112 million and $94 million in interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits accrued as ofDecember 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Of these amounts, $2 million of benefit, $17 million of expense and $16 million of benefit was recognized through income tax expense in2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. If the Company were to prevail on all uncertain tax positions, the reversal of this accrual would also be a benefit to the Company's effective tax rate. 

Based on current tax laws, the Company's effective tax rate in 2012 is expected to be approximately 24.0 percent to 25.0 percent before considering the effect of any unusual or special items that may affect our tax rate in future years. 

Liquidity, Capital Resources and Financial Position 

We believe our ability to generate cash from operating activities is one of our fundamental financial strengths. Refer to the heading "Cash Flows from Operating Activities" below. The near-term outlook for our business remains strong, and we expect to generate substantial cash flows from operations in 2012. As a result of our expected cash flows from operations, we have significant flexibility to meet our financial commitments. The Company does not typically raise capital through the issuance of stock. Instead, we use debt financing to lower our overall cost of capital and increase our return on shareowners' equity. Refer to the heading "Cash Flows from Financing Activities" below. We have a history of borrowing funds domestically and continue to have the ability to borrow funds domestically at reasonable interest rates. Our debt financing includes the use of an extensive commercial paper program as part of our overall cash management strategy. The Company reviews its optimal mix of short-term and long-term debt regularly and may replace certain amounts of commercial paper, short-term debt and current maturities of long-term debt with new issuances of long-term debt in the future. In addition to the Company's cash balances, commercial paper program, and our ability to issue long-term debt, we also had $4,625 million in lines of credit for general corporate purposes, including commercial paper backup, as of December 31, 2011. These backup lines of credit expire at various times from 2012 through 2016. 

We have significant operations outside the United States. Unit case volume outside the United States represented approximately 80 percent of the Company's worldwide unit case volume in 2011. We earn a substantial amount of our consolidated operating income and income before income taxes in foreign subsidiaries that either sell concentrate to our local bottling partners or, in certain instances, sell finished products directly to our