Devil in the Details

By Jerry D. Harrison

Sandy Hill Orphans Home in Tulsa, Oklahoma was established and funded by large endowments of Tomm Oil Company stock. Throughout its life, Sandy Hill has relied on steady dividends from its Tomm stock to fund its program of raising orphaned children to responsible adulthood. But when Tomm's earnings, cash flow, and dividends suddenly start slipping and continue to do so, Sandy Hill must scramble to survive. Similarly, when retirees who live on Tomm dividends find their cash flow halved, they have to make tough decisions between medicine and food. Until the year 2000, Tomm Oil Company provided steady dividends for orphans, retirees, and all other stockholders. But, soon after 2000, cash began to dwindle and dividends were repeatedly cut, causing the company's stock price to fall. Operating results were good, but cash production was not. Most insiders suspected the culprit was Tomm's new computing system which had been installed to meet the "Y2K" threat. But, almost constant audits and investigations have not found a problem. Yet, earnings, cash flow, and dividends continued to slip. Sherman Doty is a member of Tomm's founding family and is the very frustrated Chairman of the Audit Committee of Tomm's Board of Directors. Doty suspects high-level conspiracy when he concurrently learns of strange reports in the company's London office and receives disconcerting news from Tomm's security manager. Doty acts swiftly. He forms a secret team of talented executives and managers he knows to be loyal, and directs that team to delve into the suspicious London reports. Doty pick Mel Davis, a second generation Tomm executive, to lead the team, named the Sandy Hill Team because of Sandy Hill's reliance on company dividends and because the team's clandestine organizational meeting is held at night in a Sandy Hill conference room. The team soon learns it must work quickly and covertly to prevent disaster for Tomm Oil Company and for people and organizations relying on Tomm's financial performance.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B086B9SYVZ
• ISBN13: 9798630351494
• Release Date: March 2020
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"