FASB Statements No. 106, "Employers Accounting for Post-Retirement Benefits Other Than Pensions," and No. 109, "Accounting for Income Taxes," are effective for fiscal years beginning after Dec. 15, 1992. FASB Statement No. 107, "Disclosures About Fair Value of Financial Instruments," requires not only fair value estimates of a variety of on-and-off-balance-sheet financial instruments, but also disclosure of the methods and significant assumptions. The SEC proposes new rules and amendments to existing rules and forms to implement the EDGAR system beginning in April 1993. The SEC wants separate disclosure of probable liability for environmental clean-up either on the face of the balance sheet or in a note in the financial statement. Gas pipeline companies should disclose to potential investors the magnitude of commitment and extent of uncertainties inherent in take-or-pay contracts. Internal Control--Integrated Framework, released Sept. 4 by COSO, is expected to have far-reaching implications for the financial community. The landmark study provides not only a conceptual framework, but also a standard against which companies can assess their internal control systems and judge their effectiveness.

Current Developments in Financial Accounting and Reporting. Jennings, Dennis R., Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 1‑6.

Current proposals for the §29 credit include extending its life and encouraging the development of synthetic fuels from coal, as well as the recovery of methane and other gases from landfills. New infill wells drilled into a formation originally drilled prior to 1980 will qualify for §29 credit. A registered, licensed, or certified petroleum engineer must certify wells seeking qualification for energy preference deductions. The Service has simplified regulations defining passive "activity."

Current Update in Oil and Gas Taxation. Mark, Richard, Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 7‑11.

This year's Presidents' Leadership Meeting focused on identifying the benefits of COPAS membership. Reports from the various standing committees are highlighted, as are the nominees for four positions on the COPAS Board of Directors.

COPAS: An Update. Westbrook, Jack, Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 12‑20.

This issue's Accounting Forum responds to readers' questions concerning liability for reclamation costs related to the purchase of producing properties and exploration services provided in return for interest in mineral property.

Accounting Forum. Brock, Horace, Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 21‑26.

Reserve study data are engineering estimates of recoverable mineral reserves using specific price and costs assumptions. Some controversy exists concerning which type of reserves to include and which pricing, costs, and discounting assumptions to apply. A wide range of financial statement users rely on reserve study data which include inherently subjective measurement techniques. Cooperation from a departments within a corporation is vital to accurate reserve study data preparation.

Reserve Study Data as a Part of the Financial Reporting Process. Knecht, Jr., Ronald C. and Johnson, A. Conrad, Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 27‑39.

Reserve estimation is a complex activity. There is risk that the imprecise nature of reserve estimates may distort financial reports. Familiarity with reserve estimation techniques should allow financial statement preparers and users to assess the risk of reserve estimation.

Issues in the Use of Reserve Estimates and Related Values in Financial Reports. Sparger, John, Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 40‑50.

A Published Pricing Taskforce formed from within COPAS has recommended, and the COPAS Board of Directors has sanctioned, the use of Historical Price Multipliers.

COPAS Adopts HPM's for Pricing Material Movements. Lacy, Jr., Marvin E., Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 51‑52.

Trade and investment in energy, especially oil, gas and electricity, has been a contentious issue for Canada and the U.S. for over forty years. The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, ratified on January 1, 1989, after several years of negotiation and sometimes acrimonious debate in both countries, is designed to achieve an open market for trade and investment between the two countries by the end of 1998.

The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement: Implications for the North American Energy Industry. Weinstein, Bernard L. and Gross, Harold T., Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 53‑71.

Two 1991 decisions concerning limited partnerships established alternate grounds upon which to claim Section 165 loss deductions: abandonment or worthlessness. The authors analyze recent Tax Court decisions in Echols v. Comm. and B. Philip Citron which clarified alternate grounds for entitlement to a loss deduction of partnership interests.

Loss Deductions for Abandonment of Partnership Interest. Crumbley, D. Larry and Coker, Dianna Ross, Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 72‑79.

Variance, a measure of deviation between the actual and the expected budgeted performance in a given period, is a useful tool for managerial planning and control. When dealing with large data sets and multiple report formats, computer-aided matrix manipulation can reduce the burden of time and complexity in variance analysis and can generate many managerially useful reports. This paper describes the use of a matrix manipulation model by a large international oil company in answering some of the questions it faces from top management.

Managerial Use of Matrix Model for Variance Analysis in Oil Industry: A Spreadsheet Application. Rahman, Mawdudur; Islam, Muhammad Shahidul, Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 80‑98.

One method of measuring production efficiency and the input/output relationship is the study of production functions. Unfortunately, rigorous empirical studies of production functions for the U.S. petroleum industry are relatively scant. The authors compare a number of production functions to see which one is appropriate for the U.S. petroleum industry and present and interpret the empirical results of a theoretical model.

An Empirical Estimation of Production Functions for the U.S. Petroleum Industry. Hsing, Yu and Hsing, Hsiu-Shi, Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 99‑107.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (the so-called Superfund) of 1980 provide bases for lawsuits against firms that mismanage hazardous materials. While lawsuits alleging illegal activities cannot generally be anticipated, a case can be made for investors anticipating hazardous waste lawsuits against firms in the petrochemical industry. This paper examines abnormal returns to stock ownership to see whether investors are effectively discounting stock prices of firms in the petrochemical industry.

Anticipating Illegal Activities: Hazardous Waste Lawsuits and Petrochemical Stock Returns. Muoghalu, Michael I. and Robison, H. David, Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 108‑118.

The event study considers the impact of the Persian Gulf War on oil price movements on the stock returns of 56 petroleum companies, including 22 integrated oil companies, 16 petroleum producers, and 19 oilfield service companies.

The Effect of War-Related Oil Price Movements on Common Stock Performance of Petroleum Companies. Cheng, Louis T.W. and Jones, Clifton. T., Fall/Winter 1992, pp. 119‑133.