The writedown of items on BT’s balance sheet almost quadrupled to £530 million from the £145 million announced in its half-yearly update in October that first revealed news of accounting irregularities in its Italian business, according to a press release from last Tuesday.
An independent review by KPMG of the Italian operation’s accounting practices was included in the company’s own review of its balance sheet. The investigations “revealed that the extent and complexity of inappropriate behaviour in the Italian business were far greater than previously identified and have revealed improper accounting practices and a complex set of improper sales, purchase, factoring, and leasing transactions. These activities have resulted in the overstatement of earnings in our Italian business over a number of years.”
