The IASB reissued IAS 27 "Separate Financial Statements" to focus solely on accounting and disclosure requirements when an entity presents separate financial statements that are not consolidated financial statements.
The Company is currently assessing the disclosure impact of the standards listed above on its consolidated financial statements.
DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
The Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are responsible for designing disclosure controls and procedures or causing them to be designed under their supervision and evaluating the effectiveness of disclosure controls and procedures. The Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer oversee the design and evaluation process and have concluded that the design and operation of these disclosure controls and procedures were effective in ensuring material information required to be disclosed in quarterly filings or other reports filed or submitted under applicable Canadian securities laws is made known to management on a timely basis to allow decisions regarding required disclosure.
INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
The Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are responsible for designing internal controls over financial reporting or causing them to be designed under their supervision and evaluating the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting. The Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have overseen the design and evaluation of internal controls over financial reporting and have concluded that the design and operation of these internal controls over financial reporting were effective in providing reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with IFRS.
Because of their inherent limitations, disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements, errors or fraud. Control systems, no matter how well conceived or operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. There were no changes in internal controls over financial reporting during the period ended December 31, 2012. In August 2011, the Company hired a dedicated employee to function as the Chief Compliance Officer and perform the duties previously fulfilled by an existing officer. The Chief Compliance Officer reports to the Audit Committee.
RISK FACTORS
In the normal course of business the Company is exposed to a variety of actual and potential events, uncertainties, trends and risks. In addition to the risks associated with the use of assumptions in the critical accounting estimates, financial instruments, the Company's commitments and actual and expected operating events, all of which are discussed above, the Company has identified the following events, uncertainties, trends and risks that could have material adverse impact:
-- The Company may not be able to find reserves at a reasonable cost, develop reserves within required time-frames or at a reasonable cost, or sell these reserves for a reasonable profit;-- Reserves may be revised due to economic and technical factors;-- The Company may not be able to obtain approval, or obtain approval on a timely basis for exploration and development activities;-- Changing governmental policies, social instability and other political, economic or diplomatic developments in the countries in which the Company operates;-- Changing taxation policies, taxation laws and interpretations thereof;-- Adverse factors including climate and geographical conditions, weather conditions and labour disputes;-- Changes in foreign exchange rates that impact the Company's non-U.S. dollar transactions; and-- Changes in future oil and natural gas prices.
