Questions: You own stock in Big Money Co. that is worth 10,000. Your supervisor asks you to serve on a technical evaluation board and Big Money Co. is one of the offerors. Do you have a conflict? A Yes, you cannot work on a matter in which you have a financial interest. B No, because you own less than 15,000 of stock in Big Money Co. C Maybe, it depends on whether you have a financial interest in any of the other offerors.

The answer is A: Yes, you cannot work on a matter in which you have a financial interest.

Explanation for each option:

A. Yes, you cannot work on a matter in which you have a financial interest.

• This is the correct answer. Serving on a technical evaluation board for a company in which you own stock constitutes a conflict of interest. This is because your financial interest in Big Money Co. could potentially bias your judgment or decisions, which is against ethical guidelines and regulations designed to ensure impartiality and fairness in such evaluations.

B. No, because you own less than $15,000 of stock in Big Money Co.

• This is incorrect. The threshold of $15,000 is not a standard measure for determining conflicts of interest in most ethical guidelines. The key issue is the existence of any financial interest that could influence your impartiality, not the specific amount of stock owned.

C. Maybe, it depends on whether you have a financial interest in any of the other offerors.

• This is incorrect. While having a financial interest in other offerors could also present a conflict of interest, the primary concern here is your financial interest in Big Money Co. itself. The presence of a conflict of interest is not contingent on interests in other companies but rather on any financial interest that could affect your impartiality in the evaluation process.

In summary, owning stock in Big Money Co. creates a conflict of interest that disqualifies you from serving on the technical evaluation board for that company.