Saturday May 26, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Olympus delays results amid probe; faces delisting

Crime Nov. 10, 2011 - 06:51PM JST ( 33 )

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

Order by Time Order by Popularity

33 Comments

0

some14someNov. 10, 2011 - 01:07PM JST

too late...doubt if Woodford can save Olympus from bankruptcy...Good luck.
0

WilliBNov. 10, 2011 - 01:18PM JST

Actually, now that the dirt comes to the surface, I am more sympathetic to the Olympus management than before. So this was a case of window-dressing to hide losses, but both the speculation and the window dressing were made for the company, not for personal gain.

Originally, it sounded like management had scammed away incredible amounts for purely personal gain, but that was not the case here.
-4

NetNinjaNov. 10, 2011 - 01:21PM JST

They'll keep dancing as their ship goes down. This song and dance will continue as police and investigators start removing the scenery from around them.

It would be in their best interest to take a bow. Not a gomenasai but a final bow and get off the stage.
0

namabiru4meNov. 10, 2011 - 01:25PM JST

So...who is going to buy up the pieces of Olympus? They have 70% of the market with endoscopes. Maybe a non-Japanese corporation? Kimberly-Clark, Pentax, even a lens company like Carl Zeiss...hmm...
7

gaijinTechieNov. 10, 2011 - 01:47PM JST

Have the black ships returned to Japan? Is this really the only road to much needed change?

@WilliB: Not for personal gain? I wonder what the management's pay, bonuses and priviledges had been if the losses had been honestly reported.
1

JapanGalNov. 10, 2011 - 02:13PM JST

I hope Woodford dumped his shares before blowing the whistle.
3

gyouzaNov. 10, 2011 - 02:26PM JST

I hope Woodford dumped his shares before blowing the whistle.

Ah, but that would be insider dealing - and he'd be in prison himself.
5

Harry_GattoNov. 10, 2011 - 02:39PM JST

I hope that Olympus' auditors are being looked at too. After all, they signed off the accounts as being a true statement of the company's financial position after every year-end.
0

sillygirlNov. 10, 2011 - 03:08PM JST

this is an international incident and should be investigated by all countries concerned. otherwise it will be a SHAM - and a shame.
0

gogogoNov. 10, 2011 - 03:16PM JST

So the police and the stock exchange only do something AFTER Olympus admits this.... had they not they would have just done nothing? Extremely weak on the police and stock exchange parts.
3

theproNov. 10, 2011 - 03:21PM JST

i bet if they looked they would find fraud like this in many other major Japanese companies.
0

UrbanlegendsNov. 10, 2011 - 03:47PM JST

The feds and SEC are cleaning up the corruption out there. Heads will role. A lot of these corporate executives will join the finance executives in jail. In fact a lot of wall street protesters have also been sent to jail...everyones going to jail!
0

gogogoNov. 10, 2011 - 03:48PM JST

Here's were the money went.... you're friendly Yakuza:

Olympus CEO in hiding over mafia allegations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmY_M1Jk4MU
0

tokyokawasakiNov. 10, 2011 - 03:55PM JST

@thepro: i bet if they looked they would find fraud like this in many other major Japanese companies.

Of course they would. But why stop there... I bet the old geezers within the government are the real champions when it comes to fraud, cover-ups and dodgy dealings.

I would advise shareholders of every Japanese company to demand a full and completely independent audit of the company in which they own shares...

I am confident that Olympus is just the tip of the ice-berg.
0

tokyokawasakiNov. 10, 2011 - 03:55PM JST

@williB: Are you saying you now believe what the old geezers at Olympus are claiming? I would urge to wait for the results of the investigation before you start believing anything coming from the board.
1

huberts2Nov. 10, 2011 - 04:03PM JST

The comments above are right and wrong, in my opinion. Yes a new man is needed but Woodford, notwithstanding his "guts" in making this disclosure, is too close and reasonably, it might be said, biased. Sure he may have some insights as to the operations but it needs a new head and a guy with wide financial and business experience to take on the task. It is on everyone's lips - what didn't the Auditors do? Reports indicate both KPMG and E@Y indicated faults in accounting ( that's a mild expression !) in the subsidiaries that they audited as required by the accounting standards applicable to the subs. However Olympus standards are those of Japan and however much they have been improved in the last few years they were woeful in the past and well below the standard of other advanced countries standards. It is most likely and probable that they reported according to their legal requirement. It is suggested that having been informed by the auditors of their unease, (see the reports on the subs accounts ) the responsibility fell upon the directors to advise S.E. and shareholders.
-1

rickyveeNov. 10, 2011 - 04:24PM JST

wake me up when it's time to sell my olympus shares!
0

The Munya TimesNov. 10, 2011 - 04:35PM JST

No problem, enough money remained to bribe the investigators and hire high profile lawyers so that the core of the management can walk away with their pocket full.
0

Harry_GattoNov. 10, 2011 - 04:37PM JST

@huberts2 Yes, my friend, you are absolutely right on all fronts.

I am sitting here smiling as I write because, I have been involved in the software business in Japan, in a particularly narrow vertical market, for many years. More than one customer has insisted to me that "your GAAP accounting systems from the UK don't work in Japan as we have different standards". One customer even insisted that we use of the firms which you mentioned above to audit our software!

In my experience of accounting in Japanese companies, after opening the door to the accounts department you can be forgiven for thinking that you have stepped back 40 to 50 years in time. There are far fewer properly qualified professional accounting staff in companies here than anywhere I know, in the first world at least.
0

namabiru4meNov. 10, 2011 - 04:50PM JST

Just announced...they are on the watch list for delisting because they cannot release their earnings on time!!!
2

naruhodo1Nov. 10, 2011 - 04:52PM JST

Harry Gatto, it doesnt stop at accounting!! And with todays kids/education, Japan is gonna fall much more behind. They ve got to start with education. Japan needs to change its school system from a baby sitting facility to actually educating their kids (and not just memorizing!!)
3

GWNov. 10, 2011 - 05:39PM JST

As others have said there are more companies out there that no doubt have done similar as Olympus as tobashi has been around for decades with the govt was the worst offender.

I wonder if the keystones & the FSA who have now been released will also investigate the govt & bureaucrates.............. hey I can dream cant I
3

ogtobNov. 10, 2011 - 06:03PM JST

Here we go. Police confiscate files so other agencies can't get the information. Nobody ever finds out the truth.
0

gogogoNov. 10, 2011 - 06:18PM JST

Sayorana Olympus, even if they get their earning report out in time, the stock is going to do nothing but fall... the only thing that in reality would save it from the wild selling of the stock is putting Woodford back in charge.
1

hatsoffNov. 10, 2011 - 07:08PM JST

The Enron scandal brought down their auditors, Arthur Andersen. I wonder if this Olympus mess will have a similar effect on its auditors. It surely wasn't easy hiding losses running into billions of yen over 20 years. Complicit? It'll be interesting to see what is pulled out of this dark hole.
1

smithinjapanNov. 10, 2011 - 07:52PM JST

This is about the point where the president and his cronies start dumping their shares but demand staff keep their shares, lying to them that they will rise again.
0

Charles M BurnsNov. 10, 2011 - 07:59PM JST

Bind the CEO in the bowing position and force him to walk through every university as a lesson in shame.
-1

Joseph Garrett BaxterNov. 10, 2011 - 08:54PM JST

I used to work for a subsidiary of Olympus. I knew that there were questionable things going on with the technology they licensed or did not license but tried to steal. Whether they did anything illegal I am not sure, but the practises were questionable since if they could figure a way to make it themselves and get around the patents then they would. I am aware that Sony probably does this too and many companies around the world. The truth eventually catches up with everyone. No one seems to learn from history that you can not hide the truth forever.
0

tmtmsnbNov. 10, 2011 - 09:04PM JST

Now you know why it was like a national crisis when some years ago some American bought a tiny bearing manufacturing company here.
-1

herefornowNov. 10, 2011 - 11:00PM JST

Stop with all the phony bowing and apologizing. If you even remotely understood the meaning of honor or personal responsibility you would not have allowed these crimes to happen in the first place, nor lied and covered it up for over a decade. Bottom line these guys knowingly published false financial statements for at least ten years rather than face the truth. They are crooks, not people to have sympathy for because they bowed before some cameras.
0

gonemadNov. 11, 2011 - 12:40AM JST

Can we really believe that they were 'just' trying to conceal losses which they made in the 90s? What kind of investments were that? Was it really investments or something else? Why did they wait so long to cover the losses?
0

malfupeteNov. 11, 2011 - 05:54AM JST

KPMG and Ernst & Young ShinNihon were the auditors for Olympus.. (KPMG prior to 2009) so either they were negligent in their duties when auditing the books or they knew about the hidden losses but didn't report them.. knowing how the corporate world works nowadays, they'll probably just get slapped with a fine and told to not do it again.
0

wanderlustNov. 11, 2011 - 12:03PM JST

These "auditing companies" get massive management fees for their work, and are hardly likely to bite the hands that feed them. At the same time their consultancy arms work hand-in-hand with the company on strategies to minimise taxation, optimise their business, etc.. There are so many conflicts of interest that they are not really independent outside auditors. If they were truly independent, only did audit, and did their jobs properly, we'd see a lot less of this fraud happening.