In one sense, Vertex System Resources Ltd. is in the business of curing headaches for upstream oil and gas companies.

The Vertex prescription is a bit more complex than “take two aspirins and call me in the morning.”

However, it’s a whole lot more effective.

Vertex is in the business of providing all the powerful tools these companies need to manage upstream operations – a complete property-management software suite that covers areas of critical concern, such as land and contracts, exploration and development, production, finance and administration.

In their Calgary offices, on the 20th floor at 801 - 6th Avenue S.W., the seasoned and reliable Vertex team is walking with a new spring in its step these days. The team is pleased as punch because of a recently forged working relationship with PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global accounting giant.

Here’s how the relationship works.

On behalf of its own corporate clients, the outsourcing division of PricewaterhouseCoopers has contracted to take on some of the most onerous and least cost-effective jobs in oil and gas property management.

Many big producers have learned they can save major costs – and major headaches – by outsourcing the job known as production accounting.

The term refers to a variety of vital tracking functions, from well-site to gas plant to pipeline, and points in between. It means meeting joint venture audit requirements by keeping detailed tabs on royalty distribution and production distribution.

It means providing data to each partner in any given production facility, right down to the molecule. It means keeping precise track of volumes and energy by stream-owner throughout the process. To make a long story short, PricewaterhouseCoopers has chosen Vertex to help it perform this important task.

PricewaterhouseCoopers came calling because the Vertex team of experts has developed a unique tracking system. Vertex brings something truly special to the table: a well-integrated, all-purpose system that has impressed managers in the know as a failsafe, reliable performer.

Of course, Vertex has copyrighted this super-intelligent, versatile software. But until recently, nobody had quite gotten around to assigning it a snappy nickname.

Just lately, the pros on the 20th floor have begun to refer to their system as ‘Teamwork.’ And the nickname speaks volumes.

Because the Vertex support staff represents one of the most experienced and readily adaptable groups in the oilpatch.

“Our software is terrific, no question. But our No. 1 asset is really our people,” explained Bob Cheadle.

“What really counts is that we have the support people who can fix, maintain, enhance and improve that software on an ongoing basis,” he said.

Vertex prides itself on the company’s loyal core of staff designers and application developers, some of whom have been working with the team more than 15 years.

Each has learned to live up to Vertex’s lofty performace standards.

The Vertex philosophy is simply this: it’s impossible to work on a client’s business process unless you understand every nuance of that process.

So it’s customary for Vertex team members to spend the maximum possible time getting to know the precise requirements of every customer.

That can mean sending the application developer out to the customer’s worksite, where the developer acquires essential, first-hand insights.

And once Vertex has the clearest possible idea of the customer’s needs, the design work begins.

But the interaction doesn’t stop there. Because once the design has been prepared, it’s returned to the customer, just to confirm that both designer and client remain on the same page.

Cheadle puts it this way: “The customer knows a lot more than we do.”

Vertex fulfils its mandate by understanding a client’s specific needs and by delivering tailored and customized solutions.

For a complete picture of the Vertex approach, access the corporate website at www.vertexsr.com

Or send specific questions via e-mail to: customer.service@ vertexsr.com.

Better still, why not phone Bob Cheadle directly at 403.266.3303?

You’ll quickly discover that a business relationship with Vertex System Resources Ltd.

is about opening clear lines of communication between contractor and client.

It’s about relationship building and mutual trust. And it’s about making sure the target of each and every customer is hit smack-dab in the middle.

Because the professionals on the 20th floor are never satisfied with anything less than a bulls-eye.