You have just received the following email:
From: William Seaton, Director of Finance
To: Finance Manager
Subject: Oil reserves
Hi,
This email arrived from the Head Geologist earlier today. I am concerned that many of our colleagues understand very little other than rock formations and drilling reports. They certainly misunderstand accounting issues. I have already had some very confused discussions with the other members of the Board.
I need a very clear report from you that I can circulate to the other Board members. I am not particularly interested in the technical accounting rules. I do not think that you necessarily require an accounting standard to tell you that a particular disclosure is misleading.
I need your report to cover the following:
* Should we make a public announcement of this information? I would like a clear indication of the implications for our relationship with our various stakeholders AND the ethical issues that you feel are relevant.
* What are the implications for our share price? I would like your analysis to consider the factors that will indicate how our share price will change upon the announcement.
Thanks
William
The email referred to above can be found by clicking on the Reference Materials button.

Twelve hours have passed since you received the telephone call concerning the oil spillage.
You receive the following telephone call from William Seaton, Director of Finance:
"The press has got a hold of the story about the oil leak. Our share price has taken a major hit. Indeed, Slide's market capitalisation has fallen by a third since the stock exchange opened for business. There is a lot of loose talk in the press about the knock-on effect of this crisis for Slide. It has not escaped anybody's notice that there are news teams showing injured wildlife. There is also a great deal of footage being broadcast on the other sites around the world where we are revitalising oil wells using the same technology that was in use at AZ40.
Our experts have only just arrived at the spillage site. While they were on the corporate jet they emailed their initial thoughts, based on their understanding of what went wrong. Our engineers anticipate a major operation to block the leak by pumping cement into the bore hole at a low pressure. This will be expensive, but the cost will be less than one tenth of the reduction in our market capitalisation.
I need an email from you:
* Firstly, I need a clear explanation of the key risks that Slide now faces because of this crisis. I am only interested in those with a high risk and high consequence and I need you to justify those classifications because the Board will need to prioritise its responses.
* Secondly, two related issues: I need you to explain why Slide's share price has fallen to such an extent AND to recommend, with reasons, whether we should release our costings of the repair scheme at this time.
It goes without saying that I need this urgently."

Newsweb
Protesters block bulldozers
Attempts by Wodd to harvest some of the hardwood trees from their newly acquired Bravadorian forest suffered a further setback yesterday.
Wodd's bulldozers have been unable to make any headway in clearing the site for the company's first logging base because environmental groups from several countries have descended on the Bravadorian jungle to protest the proposed destruction of the forest and the associated harvesting of many rare hardwood trees. Protestors have chained themselves to trees and to heavy equipment, making it impossible to commence the clearance operations.
Wodd's problems have been compounded by the recent discovery that a tribe of forest dwellers has lived in the forest for many generations, making little or no contact with the outside world in the process. The tribe is effectively nomadic, moving from one part of the forest to another, surviving by hunting game and gathering edible vegetation and relocating when food starts to become scarce. The environmental protestors claim that Wodd's activities will make it impossible for this tribe to continue with its traditional way of life.
Wodd claims to adhere to The Forestry Stewardship Council of Marland's ten principles, which include the assurance that "The legal and customary rights of indigenous peoples to own, use and manage their lands, territories, and resources shall be recognized and respected." Reference Material:

Save North Forest!
North Forest is located in an area of outstanding natural beauty that also includes a number of small towns and villages. Many local residents moved into the area after retiring and were attracted by the opportunity to breathe fresh air and be surrounded by beautiful views. In doing so, we have brought wealth into a local economy that was struggling because there was little employment to encourage younger people born in the area to stay.
Wodd plans to destroy North Forest in order to fuel a power station that will, in itself, spoil the view as well as polluting the atmosphere.
Globally, vast areas of forests are cleared every year for commercial exploitation. This creates untold risks for the planet because trees are responsible for giving us breathable air.
Local residents are working together with Green Marland, Marland's largest environmental campaigner, to draw attention to the damage that Wodd is threatening to inflict on this area.
We ask you to write to the Government planning department to ask it to refuse to issue a permit for this development. We also ask you to sign our online petition and to consider joining us in peaceful and non-violent direct action against the bulldozers in the event that our efforts to block the granting of a Government permit should fail.

William Seaton, the Director of Finance stopped you in the corridor a week after the Head Geologist's announcement that reserves had been overstated:
"We informed the stock exchange that our reserves had been downgraded and our share price has taken a solid hit. We need to work towards making sure that this is never repeated.
The Board is actively considering some changes that we hope will improve our forecasting system. I am not convinced that the suggestions will work. Frankly, if we could predict the future with certainty then I would have us stop looking for oil and start selling forecasts.
I would like you to work through the proposals that have been put forward and to recommend on their adoption, with changes if you think it necessary. The issues that we are most seriously considering are:
* A suggestion that Big Data could be used to monitor oil prices. Do you think this would be a sensible way to proceed?
* A suggestion that we should update our reserves information on the company website in real time. Do you think that would be an effective communication strategy?
* Finally, we have considered a number of issues surrounding the motivation and inspiration of our geologists. Two quite distinct schemes have been proposed. Firstly, some Board members believe that our geologists should be rewarded in relation to the accuracy of their forecasts. Bonuses will be paid on the basis of correct initial evaluation of wells. The bonus will increase if a well that was initially identified as commercially viable goes into production and will decrease if a well that was classified as viable is reclassified as unproductive.
Secondly, other members of the Board believe that there should be a greater degree of accountability on the part of geologists. The incorrect classification of a well's potential could be treated as a disciplinary matter. Please provide a detailed analysis of EACH of those suggestions."