A team of executives from Fuji Xerox in Japan, including global president and Fujifilm corporate vice-president Hiroshi Kurihara, have arrived in New Zealand to install tough new corporate governance measures in the wake of an “inappropriate accounting” scandal.
Kurihara says the company is committed to ensuring there is no repeat of the accounting irregularities at Fuji Xerox New Zealand (FXNZ) and Fuji Xerox Australia. A New Zealand Ministry of Business (MBIE) investigation is underway into government contracts signed with FXNZ, after an independent investigation found the company’s Australasian subsidiaries had overstated revenues by $450 million.
Kurihara, accompanied by FX Asia-Pacific president Isamu Sekine, Asia-Pacific GM marketing Takayuki Togo and local COO Peter Thomas, met with FXNZ staff in Auckland this week to outline a range of measures designed to strengthen corporate governance.
These include: tightening accounting practices for contracts, new rules regarding performance evaluation and incentives, and the reorganisation of lease business units. Improved whistleblower systems have also been introduced.
Fuji Xerox's accounting and audit operations will be integrated into Fujifilm's by September and legal departments may also be consolidated.
"Fuji Xerox's commitment to the New Zealand market remains strong,” said Kurihara. "I am confident Fuji Xerox New Zealand is well positioned at the forefront of the document management industry and remains a valued partner to our many customers."
In an interview with The Nikkei Asian Review, Fujifilm chairman and CEO Shigetaka Komori acknowledged that the parent company's previous hands-off approach had failed to provide adequate oversight.
"We thought we shouldn't tell a grownup what to do," Komori said.