Now as the company meets with institutional investors it seems more heads may roll, with speculation surrounding the future of the chairman of Shell's committee of managing directors, Jeroen van der Veer, and chief financial officer Judy Boynton.

Considering the gravity of the company's financial situation it is thought several investors were unhappy with van der Veer's appointment without shareholder consultation. Boynton is naturally under fire over the company's financial controls.

Adding to the dilemma the company has now been forced to deny that its joint auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG, had not approved its final accounts, saying these were never presented to the accountancy firms.

However, Shell would not comment on whether the auditors had been concerned about earlier drafts of its accounts.

Reports from the weekend claim that both auditors rejected the company's accounts over concerns that the quality of the provided information may lead to legal liability.

The US Securities & Exchange Commission has already launched its own investigation into the reserves downgrades.

Not surprisingly Shell now faces up to 16 lawsuits filed in the US on behalf of investors.