Ricoh: Ricoh India’s Failure to File Financial Results ‘Unprecedented’; Alleged ‘Massive Financial Irregularities’

Ricoh Company of Tokyo had some harsh words for its subsidiary, Ricoh India Limited, which has failed to submit financial results for two fiscal quarters, with Ricoh Company stating in a press release: “Ricoh India’s failure to timely file its quarterly reports for the periods ended September 2015 and December 2015 is unprecedented, not only in Ricoh India, but throughout the Ricoh Family Group and runs contrary to Ricoh’s culture.”

The press release states that Ricoh India appointed “external experts” to conduct an internal investigation into its failure to file financial results for its second quarter “in order to examine the concerns of employee misconduct.” On April 20, 2016, Ricoh India notified the Bombay Stock Exchange of the progress of the ongoing investigation.

Ricoh India has assured those concerned that it “intends to take the necessary measures regarding the financial results from the third quarter ended December 2015 in accordance with applicable laws and regulations,” and to make sure the failure won’t occur again. Ricoh India is also said to be “fully cooperating with the Bombay Stock Exchange.”

Its parent company, Ricoh Company, states that there won’t be any changes to its published results for its fiscal-year 2016 that ended on March 31, 2016, or changes to its outlook for its fiscal-year 2017 that will end on March 31, 2017.

Ricoh Company also states that “We will continue to work diligently with Ricoh India, as its major shareholder, to bring the facts to light and enact measures to try to ensure this type of incident will never happen again,” and that if any new information is disclosed, it will “promptly” share the information with  Tokyo Stock Exchange.

“Massive Financial Irregularities”

Meanwhile, on May 12, 2016, The Times of India reported that: “Ricoh India, a subsidiary of Japanese imaging and electronics company (Ricoh), has detected massive financial irregularities and fraud in the company, prompting it to lodge a police complaint after a forensic investigation revealed ‘wrongdoing.'”

“We wish to inform that Ricoh India has filed a complaint with the police against suspected wrongdoers on May 12, 2016. Ricoh India will fully cooperate with the police to enable investigation of the suspected wrongdoing,” Ricoh India said in a statement to stock exchanges.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is conducting a forensic financial auditing. Three Ricoh India executives have been sent on leave pending results of the investigations, including former CEO Manoj Kumar (who has resigned from the board), former CFO Arvind Singhal, and Anil Saini, senior VP and chief operating officer.

More Resources

• May 2016: Sales Up, But Profits Down for Ricoh’s Fiscal Year
• February 2016: Slight Dip in Profits for Ricoh’s Nine Months; Strong Sales of Production Printers
• November 2015: Modest Gains for Ricoh’s Latest Quarter Aided by Digital-Imaging Sales, Weaker Yen
• April 2015: Earnings Slump at Ricoh for Fourth Quarter and Full Fiscal Year
• October 2014: Ricoh Reports Robust Income, Steady Sales Gains for First Half of Its Fiscal Year
• April 2014: Ricoh Reports Robust Financial Results for Fiscal Year
• February 2014: Ricoh Reports Strong Financial Results, Raises Outlook
• November 2013: Sales, Net Income Up for Ricoh Japan’s Second Quarter, Fiscal Half-Year, Pushes Forcast Up