Toshiba files unapproved report, posting 532b yen net loss

April 11, 2017

TOKYO- Toshiba Corp. on Tuesday released its earnings report for April-December last year without obtaining approval from its auditing company, posting a consolidated net loss of 532,512 million yen.  Failing to win the approval of the auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata LCC, by the deadline the same day, the struggling Japanese electronics and machinery maker submitted the financial statement to the Finance Ministry's Kanto Local Finance Bureau with a disclaimer of opinion from the auditing firm. After having discussions with Toshiba, the auditor did not clarify its opinion on whether the financial statement is appropriate. The company avoided postponing the release of its nine-month earnings report for an unprecedented third time, but the submission of the statement without the auditor's approval increases the possibility of Toshiba shares being delisted, informed sources said. The Tokyo Stock Exchange will scrutinize whether the earnings report without auditor approval meets its criteria for delisting, the sources said. The TSE has placed Toshiba stock on alert over the company's past accounting fraud. Toshiba President Satoshi Tsunakawa was slated to hold a press conference later on Tuesday to explain details of the earnings report in question as well as progress in the auditing firm's investigation into Westinghouse Electric Co., the company's US nuclear business unit. Toshiba put off releasing the April-December earnings report twice, in February and March, citing the need for an auditor probe of internal controls issues at Westinghouse. For the whole of fiscal 2016, which ended in March, Toshiba stopped short of announcing earnings estimates as the company has yet to figure out effects on its earnings from Westinghouse's filing late last month for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (Jiji Press)