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Securities watchdog snuffles Toshiba again

by on19 October 2017


Not sure about this nuclear claim

It seems that Toshiba can’t get a break. Japan’s securities watchdog is investigating its latest earnings statement to see if it properly handled losses incurred by its US nuclear unit.

The move follows an unusual “qualified opinion” given to the earnings report for the past business year by Toshiba’s auditor, PriceWaterhouseCoopers Aarata LLC, in August - one in which it broadly vouched for the books.

But the auditor also issued a separate “adverse opinion” on corporate governance, saying Toshiba was late in booking losses at its Westinghouse unit.

This month proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and ISS suggested that Toshiba’s shareholders should not approve its earnings statement given the auditor’s mixed review.

Toshiba was fined in a 2015 accounting scandal so the thought that there might be problems again has Wall Street raising an eyebrow.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has not commented on the news.

Last week the Tokyo Stock Exchange removed the embattled conglomerate from a special watchlist, citing improved controls since the 2015 scandal when it admitted to inflating profits for years.

Industry experts expect that Toshiba will be allowed to remain listed as it is widely regarded as “too big to fail”.

Toshiba will hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting next week to vote on the earnings report, company directors, and the sale of the company’s memory chip unit agreed earlier this month.

 

Last modified on 19 October 2017
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