Presenting at the conference, KPMG energy and natural resources partner Michael Bray said boards and management needed to improve reporting and communication to the investment community in order to help investors make informed investment decisions.

“The Australian oil and gas industry is an attractive investment option for both local and international investors, but the industry needs to measure and communicate this value in a way that capital markets can act on with greater precision,” Bray said.

Traditional reporting and communication frameworks tend to provide a distorted view of past performance and an unreliable guide to the future, according to Bray.

“While adoption of the International Financial Regulatory Standards (IFRS) is a step toward addressing the global nature of our markets, it does not address the inadequacies of a reporting foundation that focuses on past rather than future performance,” he said.

“Effective business reporting and communication models that measure specific performance drivers, including people, infrastructure, business processes, risks and strategic management will become oil and gas companies’ competitive advantage in the race for capital.”

APPEA 2006 Conference news is proudly brought to you by