Toshiba, a laptops-to-construction behemoth, has said it expects a $9 billion net loss for the business year ended March 2017 due to writedowns at Westinghouse. It is trying to sell most or all of a prized unit that is the world’s second-biggest producer of NAND semiconductor chips.
Even if the company can’t get a full sign-off from PwC, it will file the results and hope the Kanto Local Finance Bureau will accept them as they are, the sources told Reuters. If the authorities reject the filing, Toshiba will have eight days to refile or be stripped of its Tokyo Stock Exchange listing.
“There are various possibilities,” said the person with direct knowledge of the situation. “It’s possible (the auditors) could say the results are appropriate, give limited approval or reserve their opinion.”
Toshiba might get some sympathy from the authorities, as the Financial Services Agency (FSA), which oversees the regional finance bureaus, is becoming frustrated with PwC’s probes of results checked by Toshiba’s previous auditor, Ernst & Young (EY) ShinNihon.
“If Toshiba were restating past year’s earnings, that would be one thing, but Aarata doesn’t have the authority to reject EY’s audit of past years,” a senior FSA official said.
“What do investors want to know? Are they interested in past profit-and-loss statements?” he said. “What they’re concerned about is the current balance sheet.”
Kanto Local Finance Bureau officials could not be reached for comment outside office hours.
