2019 BBNC Annual Report | Page 40

In FY2019, BBNC established the BBNC Settlement Trust to provide a variety of benefits to shareholders, Alaska Natives and descendants of Natives. The overall purpose of this trust is to promote the health, education and wel- fare of its beneficiaries and preserve the heritage and culture of Natives. The Trust’s initial programs include establishing a memorial fund to defray funeral expenses of a shareholder and providing quarterly distributions to beneficiaries. The BBNC Settlement Trust paid $20.20 per share to its beneficiaries in FY2019. The Corporation’s operations allow BBNC to provide meaningful career opportunities for its shareholders. During FY2019, BBNC had a total of 227 shareholder employees. Total shareholder wages paid in FY2019 were $16.4 million. The Corporation continues to focus on expanding opportunities for shareholder employment. CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES The Corporation’s consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Significant accounting policies are discussed in note 1 Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies accompanying the consoli- dated financial statements of this report. In connection with the preparation of the financial statements, management is required to make assumptions and estimates about future events, and apply judgments that affect the report- ed amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and related disclosures. Amounts recognized in the financial statements from such estimates are based on numerous 38 BBNC FY2019 ANNUAL REPORT assumptions involving varying and potentially significant degrees of judgment and uncertainty. Actual results may differ from management’s assumptions and estimates. Areas in which accounting estimates could be different from the final results include accounts receivable, esti- mates of total contract costs for fixed price contracts, the fair value of investments, impairment of long-live assets, intangibles and goodwill, and the tax valuation of oil and gas rights, and deferred tax assets among others.