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Top Japanese law firm embarrassed by Toshiba accounts scandal
The leading Japanese firm Mori Hamada & Matsumoto featured Toshiba in a corporate governance book it published in May, unaware of the fact that the company had been routinely overstating its results over the previous six years.
Toshiba: Japanese firms are embarrassed by profits overstatement Anton_Ivanov
Other companies have been under similar pressures to Toshiba, says Hiroyuki Kamano, a lawyer who is on several boards of Japanese companies. He said: 'Increased profits and better performance lead to promotions so there is always an evil incentive.' Lawyers are likely to play a major role in the aftermath of the scandal and they have already been involved in the unveiling of it at the 140-year old consumer electronics giant. A group of lawyers and accountants worked together to produce the 294-page report, which highlighted the overstating of profits in the Toshiba PC division.
Looked good
Kota Ezawa, a Citigroup analyst, said: 'Toshiba was lauded as a frontrunner in governance efforts, but that was a misunderstanding. Its governance structure looked good but the execution was not.' Source: Financial Times
