The Hong Kong Society of Accountants is looking into auditing work by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu for trouble-ridden Yeebo (International Holdings), whose results for last year drastically restated its previous financial position. A spokesman for the society said it was collecting information to assess the work of the auditor. 'We may have to get the whole set of accounts of Yeebo to have a comprehensive view,' he said. 'We don't want to take things out of context.'' If the information collected proved insufficient, the society would contact the accountant for clarification. 'For the time being, there is no disciplinary action, just information collecting,' the spokesman said. Yeebo, being investigated by the Commercial Crime Bureau for irregularities in the company, initially reported a $95.7 million profit for the year to March 31, 1995. But in announcing its results for the past fiscal year on August 2, it restated the previous accounts to a loss of $139 million. Earnings per share of 21.2 cents were revised accordingly to a loss of 30.77 cents a share. The changes were put forward as more updated information was revealed by the investigation. The company has commenced legal proceedings against certain former directors on the suspicion 'that substantial frauds have been perpetrated against the group'. The vast discrepancy between the two sets of data can be attributed to five major items. The cost of certain assets of the company had been inflated in its 1995 accounts. The actual book cost of the fixed assets has been written down by $65 million. The company spent $128.9 million as deposits to acquire plant and machinery which were never received. An amount of $3.1 million worth of supposed stocks were not supported by valid stock records. Sales during the year to certain customers were over-stated by $34.1 million. Unrecorded borrowings to the amount of $15.6 million by So Kin-keung, former director, were uncovered. Mr So was the chairman of listed Kin Son Electronic (Holdings), a company under liquidation. The loan agreements were not recorded in any directors' meeting minutes. All these factors depressed the 1995 profit before taxation by $234.7 million. Even in the 1996 accounts, the auditors put in a disclaimer of opinion because of the limited evidence available to them and the uncertainty relating to the going concern basis. For the year 1996, Yeebo recorded a loss of $80.5 million. Loss per share was 17.92 cents. The company's going concern status is currently propped up by advances of $251 million by a group of banks which has undertaken not to demand payment before the end of this month. However, the banks' continued support hinges on additional funds being injected into the group and the assurance of maintaining integrity in the company's management.
