Waiting for the Oando forensic audit
Based on the receipt of petitions from some shareholders of Oando, alleging financial mismanagement and corporate governance issues by the top management of Oando, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria conducted an investigation last year.
The report of the SEC investigation identified gross insider dealings, misstatements in the 2013 and 2014 audited financial statements of the company, related party transactions and other unwholesome practices. This necessitated placing the company’s shares on technical suspension at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and constituting an independent team of professionals to carry out a forensic audit of the company’s activities. The financial infractions included suspicious related party transactions with directors and interests of directors of Oando plc.
Oando Plc’s annual accounts threw up disclosures that revealed that the company engaged in a web of related party transactions, which ran into several billions of naira annually. These transactions raised concerns about issues of conflict of interests.
The annual reports of Oando Plc (listed in Nigeria and South Africa) were compared with the annual reports of its major subsidiary, OER, listed in Canada. The Board and Management of OER within the financial years of 2012 and 2015 had consistently disclosed in the audited annual reports, the existence of material threats to OER’s going concern status due to negative working capital and high indebtedness.
This was not the case with Oando Plc, as its management avoided reporting any threat to the company’s going concern status although it also consistently faced the challenge of negative working capital. Even after posting a historic loss for the financial year end December 31st, 2014, the directors of Oando Plc did not express concern about the impact of the loss on its future operations.
It was only in 2015 and 2016 that the company acknowledged the fact that its going concern status was threatened.
Going Concern is the assumption that a company or other entity will be able to continue operating for a period of time that is sufficient to carry out its commitments, obligations, objectives and so on. The auditors of Oando are therefore of the opinion that the company’s continued survival for at least one year is threatened.
And in a situation where the auditors of a company have expressed their concern on the going status of a company, it means there is a threat of liquidation of such an entity such that its goodwill value is gone, worth of any tangible assets is tied to liquidation, and debts are due and must be paid in full immediately.
Despite the above listed allegations of financial mismanagement and corporate governance lapses by Oando Plc and the fact that stakeholders are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the forensic audit of the embattled oil firm, it is worrisome that the forensic auditors are yet to commence their work.
Concerned stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market are of the view that the management of Oando Nigeria Plc led Mr. Adewale Tinubu must step aside to allow for the unhindered forensic audit into the weighty allegations against the company. If the company truly does not have a hidden agenda and has complied responsibly within the provisions of the laws of the land, it should allow its books to be looked into.
Bashir Ibrahim Hassan, Abuja.