Toshiba says cooperating with US on 'accounting problem'

TOKYO, Japan - Toshiba's American units are cooperating with US authorities over alleged accounting irregularities, the embattled firm said Friday, a day after its shares tumbled on a report it was under investigation.

The company has been roiled by a profit-padding scandal, in which high-handed bosses for years systematically pushed their subordinates to cover-up weak financial figures.

Toshiba, a pillar of Japan's industrial establishment, is expecting a huge loss of about 710 billion yen ($6.4 billion) for the year to March with sagging global demand also contributing to its financial woes.

"Several of our US subsidiaries have been requested to provide information by the US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission, and they are cooperating with the request," Toshiba said in a statement, referring to what it described as an "accounting problem" though it refrained from naming any of the companies.

The statement came after Bloomberg News, quoting unnamed sources, reported on Thursday that the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are examining if any fraud occurred over a loss booked by Toshiba's US nuclear business unit Westinghouse.

The loss could be up to 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion), the Asahi Shimbun daily said.

On Thursday Toshiba's stock fell nearly eight percent in Tokyo following the probe report, but in early trading Friday the shares were up more than four percent.

Toshiba will hold a news conference later Friday after the market close to announce its mid-term business plan.

In December, Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission said that Toshiba should be slapped with a record 7.37 billion yen fine over the profit-padding scheme that hammered its reputation.

In the wake of the scandal, Toshiba -- a vast conglomerate that makes everything from rice cookers to nuclear plants -- has ushered in thousands of job cuts and plans to sell various business units in a bid to revive itself.

Toshiba said Thursday that it has sold its medical devices unit to camera and office equipment maker Canon for almost $6 billion.

It also announced a basic agreement to sell a majority interest in its home appliance business to China's Midea, though a Toshiba spokeswoman said a price for the deal had yet to be announced.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Choosing an Accountant: Simplifying the Process

Trying to choose an accountant can be enough to make anyone’s head spin, especially if it’s your first time. With your finances vulnerable to their professional expertise and skill, many business owners are terribly afraid of making a disastrous mistake and putting their earnings in jeopardy.

In truth, it’s far better to be apprehensive about such a choice than it is to approach it with complacency. Your accountant will have access to your most delicate business dealings, and you need to know that you can trust them to take care of you and your enterprise.

If your search has begun, then here are a few tips to help you choose the right professional for you…

Gather Recommendations

One of the most effective ways of finding a suitable professional is to turn to your contacts and see whom the people in your network would recommend. There is no better commendation than one that comes from a person you know and trust, so if someone has a candidate that they would like to put forward, it’s worth your time to contact them. Although their actual suitability will largely come down to your personal preference, recommendations are still a useful place to start, and you know from the outset that at least one of the candidate’s clients thinks highly enough of them to tout for business on their behalf.

Assess Their Experience

You may want to gather some additional candidates to add to your list through internet recommendations or reviews, but once you have a suitable number of options to explore, a good way to whittle them down is by looking at how much relevant experience they have. As a business owner, you need someone who can prepare tax returns, and complete and archive financial documents for companies with a similar revenue and structure to yours. Additionally, they must be able to use any relevant software instrumental to your bookkeeping methods, such as cloud computing or Excel spreadsheets. If they already have clients in a similar sector, then that’s one more tick in the relevant box.

Check Their Certification 

Once you have a preferred accountant, it’s important to check their certification before you commit to anything. A country specific central body will regulate all financial professionals in your region, and to be included on their register, accountants will have to possess relevant qualifications and uphold the highest professional standards. This means that when you choose a name that features on their list, you always know that you’re getting the most for your money, and that you’re working with an individual or firm that you can rely on.

Find your perfect accountant today by following these three simple steps.

source: 20smoney.com