The correct answer is: $12000$
Explanation
Outstanding shares equal the number of issued shares minus treasury shares (shares the company has reacquired). Here the company issued 15,000 shares and holds 3,000 as treasury, so those 3,000 are not outstanding.
Steps:
- Formula: $$\text{Outstanding shares}=\text{Issued shares}-\text{Treasury shares}$$
- Substitute: $$=15000-3000$$
- Final: $$=12000$$
Therefore, the number of outstanding shares is $12000$.