You are a Chartered Accountant with extensive client experience specialising in conflict resolution for top-tier accounting firms. You have recently been engaged by Bradley James Parry (BJP) a mid-tier audit firm that has a particular focus on manufacturing clients.

Luke Warden is BJP's engagement partner on a major client, Marn Jubilee, a large manufacturer of mining equipment with several factories in regional NSW. Luke had just received a call from Kevin Kevanna, the manufacturing manager at Marn Jubilee's factory in Wagga Wagga. Kevin was furious. He had just read a report prepared by the audit team concerning cost problems at his factory.

Kevin, in a loud voice said that he disagreed with several key sections of the report. He claimed that had he known more about the audit team's work, he could have shown them facts that disproved some of their conclusions. He also asked why the report was prepared before he had a chance to comment on it. What made him particularly angry was that the report had been distributed to all of Marn Jubilee's executive leadership team. Kevin felt that the executive leadership team would get a distorted view of his whole factory.

Luke ended the call by saying he would look into the issue so he called in Beryl O'Malley, the audit manager who lead the audit team for the Wagga Wagga factory. Beryl admitted that she had not had a chance to talk to Kevin before completing and distributing the cost report nor had she really had a chance to spend much time with Des Leak, the assistant manufacturing manager. Beryl claimed that it was not her fault. She had tried to meet with Kevin and Des more than once. She had left phone messages for them but they always seemed too busy to meet and were away from the factory on days she was available. So she decided that she had better complete the report and get it distributed in order to meet the deadline.

That same day, Kevin and Des discussed the issue over lunch. Des was angry too. He said that Beryl had asked him to participate in the costing study but her timing was bad. Des was working on an important factory project of his own that was a top priority for Kevin. He could not take the time that Beryl needed right now. He tried to tell her this before the study began but Beryl claimed she had no choice but to do the audit. Des remembered, with some resentment, how he could not get Beryl's help last year when he needed it but the audit team seemed to have plenty of time for the cost study when he could not give it any attention. Kevin agreed that he and Des had been unfairly portrayed as 'poor performers' and said he would follow up the issue.

apply fishbone technique to solve this conflict and make an agenda for meeting