Overview

Numbers drive oil and gas projects and accounting for those numbers has become progressively more complex following the international adoption of a standard form IFRS accounting standards, outside of the USA. These new standards are largely prescriptive in nature and involve increasingly difficult issues for records, accounting profits and public shareholder reporting.

The course examines in some detail the key Standards as they apply to oil and/or gas project involving accounts of companies established outside of the USA. For US companies, there is a project to harmonise the US Standards with the IFRS, so US companies also need to understand the detail of the new IFRS.

Focus is on project capex, including exploration, production and rehabilitation and booking income and trading stock issues, along with a comparison of the acquisition of a company owning a project and a direct interest in an operating project.

It is possible some clarification of the accounting for carbon trading emission schemes may also be able to be included if the Federal Government are sufficiently advanced.

One sleeper issue has been the concept of Impairment for the industry and the course will look at this closely as to its application even during periods of high commodity prices.

The tax effect accounting standards will also be considered, along with the complexities of how the international tax planning of a group may impact on current income tax and future income tax liabilities.