A further eight weeks have passed since the discussion concerning Wodd's creation of an accredited Forest Certification Service.
Wodd's Chairman has asked you to a meeting:
"I thought that we had a lucky escape over the Barry Crauder story from a recent news article, but the Government is considering modifying the tax arrangements associated with forestry. Professional forestry companies such as Wodd will continue to pay no tax on forestry profits, but private individuals such as Mr Crauder will be taxed on profits just as they would for any other business. The Government is taking this action because public opinion is against granting generous tax relief to wealthy individuals.
For the moment, this is all highly secret. The minister responsible for forestry has spoken to the chairmen of all of the major forestry companies on the basis that each gives a personal guarantee to respect the Government's confidence. The minister has done so because she is concerned that stock markets will panic when the news of the tax changes are announced next week. If the shareholders incorrectly believe that we will lose the tax shield on our profits then the share price will drop like a stone. We will be able to announce that we are aware of the changes and that we will not be taxed differently because of them.
I have spoken to the Board about this, making them promise not to repeat any of this information. We have called in and briefed the key analysts who advise the main institutional investors in Marland on the forestry industry.
As things stand, we can expect a lot of the wealthy individuals who own forests to divest themselves as soon as they discover that there are no more tax incentives. That will have significant implications for Wodd, both directly and indirectly.
The Board believes that the markets will overreact when the tax changes are first announced and that we will be unable to do much to manage that. One suggestion that has been put forward is that we should increase the dividend slightly as a signal that we are confident in the future strength of the industry. I suspect that the executive directors are just a little too concerned with the fact that they all have stock options that can only be exercised on a date that falls just after the government is due to announce its intentions on tax.
I need your thoughts in order to have an independent viewpoint from that voiced by the Board:
* What effect will the tax changes have on our business?
* Do you agree that briefing the analysts will mitigate the risk of our share price overreacting when the tax changes are announced?
* Will the additional dividend payment help to maintain the share price?
* Is granting executive stock options always a sound basis for aligning the interests of the executive directors and the shareholders?"

Daily Gazette
Draft story for comment
The singer, the forester and the tax adviser
Popular singer Barry Crauder is regarded as one of our more financially-aware personalities. He works hard, releasing at least one new album every year and serving as a judge on a popular talent show. He has a reputation for investing this income wisely, choosing to save for his future rather than squandering on the trappings of the show business lifestyle.
Crauder's popularity was severely damaged when it emerged that he pays little or no tax on the investment income derived from his portfolio of investments. That is because he has used one of the few remaining tax loopholes, namely investment in forestry. He owns significant areas of forestry in the far North of Marland. We estimate his earnings from those investments to exceed M$800,000 every year and yet he has not paid a single Cent in tax on that income since he first invested in forestry ten years ago. In contrast, a typical fan who earns the national average wage of M$28,000 every year will pay approximately M$7,000 in tax.
So, could we all invest in forestry? Well, not unless we can afford it. I posed as a wealthy business entrepreneur and approached several leading tax advisers. Most were interested in helping me to invest a seven figure sum to avoid tax, but warned that saving tax could be expensive in terms of fees and commissions.
Four firms recommended forestry as the ideal investment. All recommended Wodd, with whom all four claimed to conduct "significant business". They said that a typical client would give Wodd a bank draft and leave the purchase and subsequent management to Wodd in return for a fee. Most clients had never even seen the forests that they own and none ever need to make a management decision concerning the growth or sale of timber.
Sadly, investing in forestry is a rich person's pursuit. I was warned that companies such as Wodd are unlikely to entertain a potential client whose initial investment does not run into the tens of millions of M$.
Please address any response to Sonia Jones, care of the Daily Gazette news desk, as quickly as possible.

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."

The following email has just arrived:
From: William Seaton, Director of Finance
To: Finance Manager
Subject: News article
Hi,
My Secretary has drawn my attention to the attached newspaper clipping. I have been reading comments like this since Fouce Oil acquired its interest in 2010. We briefed the press at the time and made it clear that we would not be commenting further on our relationship with it unless it changed materially. Nothing has happened since then to make us change our mind on that.
The Board has asked me to compile a report on the following:
* How might the presence of Fouce Oil, as a 25% shareholder, affect our decision making as a Board of Directors? Perhaps, surprisingly, we have never had a formal discussion of this matter.
* How will Fouce Oil's stake in Slide affect our share price?
I would like you to email me your thoughts on these points so that I can have as long as possible to think about what I will say to the Board.
Thanks
William
The newspaper clipping can be found by clicking on the Reference Materials button.