PwC Botswana sticks to its guns
Retail Correspondent
PwC Botswana says its auditing is above board, as confirmed by Botswana authorities, and neither it nor the individual partner are to blame for the late release of retailer Choppies’ annual financial statements.
The audit firm has been taken to Botswana’s high court by the retailer’s founders over delays in signing the 2018 accounts.
The case has been ongoing since 2020.
Choppies’ founders Ramachandran Ottapathu and Ismail Farouk blame the late audit and subsequent suspension from the local bourse and the Botswana stock exchange on PwC’s actions and want more than R610m in compensation.
The stock had lost more than 75% of its value when it was suspended.
They have accused auditor Rudi Binedell of purposely delaying the audit by demanding a forensic investigation — claiming he was offered a job by the board, which was later reneged on by Ottapathu.
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The audit firm told Business Day on Wednesday: “PwC Botswana firmly believes that the evidence to be presented at court will demonstrate that the individual partner’s conduct complied with requirements of the International Ethics Standard Board for Accountants. Evidence will also show that neither the firm nor the individual partner were to blame for the delay in release of the annual financial statements of Choppies.”
PwC has claimed throughout the process it was concerned about governance and financial affairs at the retailer, with PwC Botswana saying it remains confident of its defence in the case.
This is in part because the Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority confirmed that the firm and Binedell’s conduct complied with its rules, following an inspection of Choppies’ audit file.
The retailer faced claims of money laundering in Zimbabwe in 2018, but the forensic investigation cleared it of the charge.
Choppies won a preliminary court round last week about which matters should be heard first. In making his ruling, the judge found a job offer had been discussed with the auditor.
However, the merits of the case and claims against PwC have not yet been heard.