KPMG chairman Michael Andrew said the Olympus
scandal reveals evidence of a “significant fraud” and has called
for co-ordinated regulatory oversight and a global set of standards
for the auditing industry, according to Reuters.
Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents Club in
Hong Kong, Andrew said KPMG ASZA had done the right thing in the
actions it took pertaining to the Japanese company. KPMG ASZA was
Olympus’s auditor until March 2009 when Ernst & Young ShinNihon
(E&Y), the company’s current auditor, took over.
Reuters claims KPMG was replaced by the camera
maker because KPMG disagreed with the way certain acquisitions were
being accounted for.
“What is pretty evident to me is that it is a
very, very significant fraud,” he said. “We should wait for the
Japanese authorities to disclose that.
“I think it is very hard to jump to the
conclusion that it’s a corporate governance failure. Regulation
will never prevent corporate scandals.”
KPMG and E&Y are being investigated by the
Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Japan’s
Financial Services Agency following the revelation of the scandal
earlier this month.
