Ex CEO did not receive investor backing.
It seems that there is no end in sight for the drama surrounding the scandal-ridden camera manufacturer, Olympus. The Japan Times reports that Shuichi Takayama, the company’s president, plans to step down by the end of January, after a report was released by an in-house investigative panel which found that more than 10 people — including Takayama and other board members — are responsible for the $1.7 billion accounting fraud that came to light last year.
It does not stop there for Olympus, however. On Friday, Reuters said the former whistleblowing chief executive, Michael Woodford, who was sacked last year after uncovering the accounting scandal, intends to abandon the bid to regain his seat at the once famous medical device maker after failing to receive sufficient support from institutional investors. Woodford said he would sue Olympus for unfair dismissal and has started the legal process in the UK.
In Japan, the investigative panel concluded that Takayama, four of the company's 11 current board members and an external member, all violated their supervisory duties by ignoring the unethical accounting practices used to conceal the major losses the firm incurred over the years. The report says that Takayama and several other executives will have to find Y90 billion to cover the damages or the company will sue them over the accounting fiasco.
Olympus continues to suffer from weak corporate governance practices that have tarnished the firm’s reputation. In December, Takayama pledged to set up internal teams to revamp the company’s lax governance policies and make changes to its organizational structure to restore public confidence in the discredited board members. He also said he would wait for the reformed management committee to provide instructions or suggestions to management.
Japanese media outlets have reported that Sony, Fujifilm and Panasonic are among those that may try to revive Olympus’ scandal-tainted empire.
