WANdisco suspends shares and launches fraud probe
The software firm said top bosses had found ‘significant, sophisticated and potentially fraudulent irregularities’ in its sales and revenues.
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Your support makes all the difference.Software firm WANdisco has asked for its shares to be suspended and warned over its future after uncovering “potential fraudulent irregularities” in its reported sales and revenues.
The data specialist revealed that it may have mis-stated its expected revenues for 2022, saying it could be as low as nine million US dollars (£7.6 million) compared with a previously stated 24 million US dollars (£20.4 million).
It added that it also has “no confidence” in its previously announced sales booking expectations for 2021-22.
In a shock trading update, it said top bosses at the group had found that “significant, sophisticated and potentially fraudulent irregularities with regard to received purchase orders and related revenue and bookings, as represented by one senior sales employee, have been discovered”.
“These irregularities give rise to a potential material mis-statement of the company’s financial position,” it said.
Its co-founder, chief executive and chairman David Richards and chief financial officer Erik Miller reported their findings to the board after an internal investigation, it added.
It warned that the discovery has led to a “material uncertainty” over its financial position and raised questions over the firm’s ability to continue operating.
The group – headquartered in Sheffield and California – asked for its shares on London’s junior Aim market to be suspended pending a probe by its external legal and professional advisers.
It comes just days after WANdisco became the latest UK technology firm to reveal it was mooting a US stock market dual listing.
The firm, which has 180 staff across its UK and US operations, was set up in 2005 and floated in 2012.
It was valued at £880 million before shares were suspended.