This issue's update on SEC, AICPA, and FASB activities discusses in detail AcSEC's SOP 95-2, Financial Reporting by Nonpublic Investment Partnerships, and SOP 94-6, Disclosure of Certain Significant Risks and Uncertainties. Other news includes an amendment to SAS 58, Reports on Audited Financial Statements, to eliminate the required uncertainties paragraph in the auditor's report and a new EITF concerning the types of direct, integration, or exit costs that should be accrued as liabilities in a purchase business combination under ABP 16, Business Combinations.

Current Developments in Financial Accounting and Reporting. Jennings, Dennis R., Summer 1995, pp. 1‑7.

An update on the activities of the various committee and subcommittees of the Council of Petroleum Accountants Societies.

COPAS: An Update. Gear, Jon, Summer 1995, pp. 8‑21.

Events in the North Sea, specifically the Brent Field Spar decommissioning, have focused attention on the difficult and expensive challenge which operators face in abandoning offshore platforms.

Current Developments in Environmental Issues. Wright, Charlotte, Summer 1995, pp. 22‑24.

This article reviews the SEC's impairment tests and discusses the new SFAS No. 121 and its application to and impact on the oil and gas industry. Included is an example which illustrates the SEC's rules versus the new SFAS requirements.

SFAS No. 121: New Impairment Rules for the Industry. Gallun, Rebecca A. and Nichols, Linda M., Summer 1995, pp. 25‑36.

Shell's decision to dispose of its Brent Field Spar oil platform in a seabed grave off the Outer Hebrides exploded into a environmental public relations nightmare causing a rift in international relations between the UK and Germany, severe embarrassment to the British government, and multimillion dollar losses to the Royal Dutch Shell group as a result of consumer boycotts of its products. This article analyzes the implications this case has for the oil industry, stressing the necessity of developing clear strategies for dealing with environmental issues.

Beyond Compliance: Measuring the Environmental Challenge for the Oil Industry. Nevin, Michael, Summer 1995, pp. 37‑56.

A survey by the authors examined the accounting and legal issues associated with abandonment, querying oil companies about the commercial and legal issues arising from the 1987 Petroleum Act (UK) and the accounting issues involved both with the difficulties in estimating abandonment provisions and the disclosure in annual financial statements.

Abandonment: A Survey of Legal and Accounting Issues. Cradock-Watson, Tom and Winsor, Tom, Summer 1995, pp. 57‑69.

Properly developed accounting systems can be employed to mitigate, if not entirely avoid, crisis events. This paper describes and illustrates a vital mechanism in establishing an appropriately tailored crisis accounting system, namely the environmental audit.

The Environmental Audit: A Key Mechanism in Crisis Accounting. Archibald, T. Ross and Conklin, David W., Summer 1995, pp. 70‑79.

Oil companies that do not understand and timely implement the complex identification, record-keeping, and clear reflection of income regulations are in for an unpleasant surprise when the IRS examines their hedging activities.

Oil and Gas Tax Hedging Transactions: Tax Trap for the Unwary. Miranda, William F., Summer 1995, pp. 80‑89.

The authors use bench marking data obtained from post-SFAS No. 69 oil company financial reports to evaluate three performance categories (financial, exploration strategy/success, and asset quality/operations) for major, independent, diversified, and pipeline oil firms.

Key Indicators of Performance for Oil and Gas Firms: A Contrast of All Sectors. Rizzuto, Ronald; Johnsen, Tommi; and Grove, Hugh, Summer 1995, pp. 90‑114.

This article analyzes the role of toehold acquirers in the corporate governance of oil and gas firms and examines whether the stock market response to toehold acquisitions of oil and gas firms is consistent with the disciplining role of corporate takeovers.

Toehold Acquisitions: The Case of the Oil and Gas Industry. Reburn, James P., Summer 1995, pp. 115‑126.