Chéserex, Switz. (Feb. 3, 2004) -- The board of Swiss staffing firm Adecco said the continuing investigation into material weaknesses at its North American staffing unit hasn’t turned up any significant issues.
“The board has so far found no evidence demonstrating any major misappropriations or irregularities that would be financially significant to the company as a whole,” the company’s board said in a statement issued Friday. “Instances of local misappropriations and irregularities -- mainly at branch-level -- have been identified in certain countries. However, the board does not believe these instances will turn out to be financially significant to the company as a whole.”
Last month, Adecco announced that it had identified material weaknesses in Adecco Staffing North America’s internal controls and delayed the release of its financial report for 2003. At that time, Adecco launched an investigation into the company’s accounting, internal controls and compliance issues.
Adecco’s board appointed an independent monitor, Richard Kilsby, to assure the independence of the investigation being conducted by the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. The company also said it appointed Ray Roe, chief executive of its Ajilon division, as CEO of Adecco Group’s North American operations and that it is initiating steps to improve its control systems.
-- WebCPA staff
