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Completely agree - the auditors do a little auditing, but the management team provide the information and the Board sign off the audited accounts. I have a company where we have audited accounts, and I have seen a certain financial services company do a forensic-esq audit of another companies books, and I have seen the information provided to auditors and what is returned in other situations - and what is returned is utter nonsense in relation to the true picture. They see what you show them - after all, as Directors, you responsibility is to the Company and there is a code of conduct - so one would not present false information would one? Of course if one did and was found out, one could end up paying the price. Were I to see the press, see what is happening in my clients sector, look at what RICS are doing and compare PubCo estate values agains mean average, I would also look at if I wanted to continue in what I would consider to be a period of disquiet. After all, E&Y have their reputation to consider.

John, I think you mis-read my post - the bit about "talk to your area manager" was a quote from Tim Compton's post - my point was when you do try to talk to them, they don't reply or if they do, they don't help.

Cont... The following excerpt relates to Tibet and is from http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=380 "Direct action sometimes means breaking the law. Sometimes this kind of direct action is called nonviolent civil disobedience. The term "civil disobedience" originally meant deliberately breaking a law that you believe is unjust (for example, black and white people sitting together at segregated lunch counters in the American south during the Civil Rights movement), but it is often used now to refer generally to actions that might result in arrest. Actions that involve breaking the law are obviously not a tactic that should be employed lightly or without sufficient preparation and training. However, sometimes an injustice is too great to tolerate and a moment of opportunity presents itself to highlight that injustice through an action that involves breaking the law. For example, the head of your country's government is meeting with the President of China, and you happen to have access to the building right across the street from where they are meeting. You could get your message about Tibet to the two leaders, the public and the media by hanging a big banner with your message out of the window of that building. You could be arrested for such an action. It is up to you to ask yourself the question, "is what we will get out of this opportunity worth the risk?"" Publicans are hanging their banner out of the window - that banner is the GMB PRM. "We who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience before it can be cured." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cont... How many suffering lessees are no longer in the period since 2004? A considerable number I am sure. And there will be more. How long does one continue to attempt negotiation? No matter what happens between now and next summer, the cost of my rent will not decrease and the cost of my beer will not decrease. Without either of these 2 factors coming into play, all other work, whilst perhaps helpful in the long term, will not alleviate incumbent lessees problems today or in the medium term. As I have mentioned elsewhere on these forums, 1 barrel of Stella per week bought out of tie from A.N.Other wholesaler would make almost £7,500 difference in a year in purchase costs. One single barrel per week. I am personally under no illusion that the PubCos will not roll over. They cannot - they have too much debt and they have to keep the City's confidence. This one, really must be a fight to the end. The PubCos are tied up in debt and only we can service that debt. If that means they rape and pillage our resources and then repeat the cycle through churn or some other mechanism, they will. They HAVE TO. So they WILL NOT enter into sensible discussion on how to operate the tie. Period. So, what is left? If GMB PRM do not do this, then what - vent off, talk, wait, talk, vent off, wait, wait, wait? What is the OTHER option to this action to those who have nothing left to lose?

If you tweet problems relating to say, a software problem with a package you bought for your computer and were basically saying it was rubbish because it did not do what you thought it would, then invariably you will get a representative of the company you tweeted about contacting you to help sort out the snag because thay understand that such activities can be damaging for them and the want to make sure your experiance is sound so you can tweet good things about their products instead. If PubCo directors are posting and reading - I would say this would be a great opportunity to look at common feelings and identify some who you would like to help - resulting in a great tweet! I am a director of a company, and if I saw forums like this one, I would be agog - AND I would do something about it.