Representatives of Ernst & Young and Statoil, a global producer of oil and gas, made a joint presentation to the fourth-year students of the Special Talent Group of the University on December 22, 2006, Trend reports with reference to the statement of Ernst & Young. Alekper Abbasli, the finance manager of Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company operated by Statoil, and Turgay Teymurov, the audit manager at Ernst & Young, discussed with students the accounting issues in oil and gas industry. The discussion involved issues such as oil and gas industry in Azerbaijan, capitalization of costs, and differences between various accounting systems. The presenters had prepared the presentation so that to have an interactive class environment. Students held a lively discussion with the presenters. The presentation was held as part of the course on advanced accounting topics for the University students organized by Ernst & Young, a leading global professional services firm, with financial support from the American Chamber of Commerce. Curriculum organizers believe that such innovative techniques need to be incorporated to the standard curriculum to establish a touch of students' academic knowledge to the real-world examples and encourage such initiatives. Statoil is one of the largest global oil and gas companies and key foreign investors in the oil and gas industry of Azerbaijan. Represented in 33 countries, it is engaged in exploration and production in 15 of these. The Company's head office is in Stavanger, Norway. American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan is a non-profit business organization, committed to improvement of the business climate in Azerbaijan and exploring business opportunities for Azerbaijani and American businessmen. The Chamber is supporting the efforts of transition to the new global accounting standards in Azerbaijan. Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to the quality of financial reporting. Its 114,000 people in 140 countries pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism in providing a range of sophisticated services centered on core competencies of auditing, accounting, tax, and transactions. Ernst & Young CIS offers services in thirteen offices throughout the CIS with 2,637 professionals.