Over a two-year period (20142016), the price of crude oil on the commodity markets fell from over $100 to under $30 per barrel. While helping consumers at the gas pump, this drastic drop put many companies that explore for, drill, and refine oil into deep financial difficulties. In early 2016 energy giant ConocoPhillips cut its quarterly dividend from 74 to 25 cents per share. About this same time many companies in the European Union cut dividends as they continued to struggle in their efforts to recover from the financial crisis brought on by the Great Recession of 2008. Diversified manufacturer Rolls-Royce announced early in 2016, for example, that it was cutting its dividend for the first time since 1992, citing the need to strengthen the equity section of its balance sheet. What is equity and what purpose does it serve? In what forms is equity disclosed on the balance sheet, and how do companies account for changes in equity? What considerations would you have in mind if evaluating a crude oils financial statements? Be specific.