Financial Misconduct at Ricoh India: A Case Study of Falsified Accounts and the Consequences of Corporate Governance Failure
S. Baranidharan *
Presidency Business School, Presidency College (Autonomous), Hebbal, Bangalore, India.
Amirdha Vasani Sankar
Department of Corporate Secretaryship and Accounting Finance, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In 2016, Ricoh India, a subsidiary of the Japanese multinational company Ricoh, admitted that its accounts had been "falsified" and estimated a loss of Rs 1,123 crore for the fiscal year ending March 31st, 2016. An internal investigation revealed that the company's financial statements for the years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 had been altered to inflate revenues and profits. As a result, the company's CEO and CFO resigned and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched an investigation. In 2017, SEBI imposed a fine of Rs 31.5 crore on the company and two of its top executives for violating securities laws and regulations. This case serves as a reminder of the importance of proper financial reporting and internal controls within a company to maintain transparency and integrity, and retain the trust of investors and regulators
Keywords: Falsified accounts, internal investigation, inflation of revenues, violation of securities laws, transparency, integrity, financial reporting, internal controls