Cooking the books

bayles

Im posting this regarding a particular situation that i find myself in and would like to see what people think might be the best course of action to take (if any) .
I cant mention names or the company so i hope you can follow it .

I work for company "X" , this company is managed by a person "A" and an assistant manager "B" . There is also a another part of the business that is managed by "C" .
Now the way this works is "A" manages the entire business but mainley the retail end and "B" has the same roll but his main focus is on another part of the business even though "C" is the manager in there , confusing i know but its how it is set up.

My roll in the company is to try and get sales in through materials and equipment that we can supply , however on the run up to christmas this was going slow so because of my background and expertise i was moved into "C"s department till things picked up.

Given my roll in the company i am privey to certain information that others are not and what has become apparent is that "A" is "cooking the books" at the risk of bringing down the whole business . To explain in a bit more detail , "A"s background is retail was a manager in a big department store so this is why "A" looks after the retail end of things however sales in the retail are so poor that "C"s department carries the whole organisation so in order to make it look good on paper for the directors "A" is putting sales from the "C"s department through the retail end to boost figures if you know what i mean . So on paper it looks like "A"s end is doing fine when in reality its the dead wood of the business and should be shut down .

The consiquence of this is that now it looks like "C"s department is making losses when infact the opposite is the case but if the retail end of things was to close down "A" would be out on the street because there is no need for him and he is not going to let that happen , he is prepared to bring the whole thing down .
In the last week there have been 5 redundancies , .

Here is my big question , "C"s department is the thriving part of that whole place and is making money , based on the information that you are now equipped with could you see any way that i would be able to step in and take over that end of the business . To put it in perspective can you imagine owning the only pub in the town ?? that will give you an indication as to how big the losses being made are and the potential in "C"s department also given the fact that it is the only one in the town .

My dilema is that i cant go to the bank with hear say and speculation and also given the fact that the information is highly sensitave i could find myself in a lot of hot water if it was to get out . Im kind of in limbo on this because i can see the whole business falling down from the inside and i know i can make a success of it but i dont know how to get my hands on it (just the "C"s department that is , not the retail end i dont want that). I cant approach the existing owners what the hell would i say , if administrators come in they will run it so how would i get it off them and if recievers come in they will sell the whole place off , i dont want the whole place .

For me to start fresh in a new building would be crazy and probably financialy impossible this company has existing account holders and is pulling in fantastic business so its the best way forward if i could get it . Is there any avenue i could go down to try and get my hands on this place or am i just wasting my time thinking about it . Even if i go to a bank with a business plan what do i base it on ? the company hasent folded and is not for sale (yet) and if it does come onto the market i know the figures that that would be shown are more than likley wrong . I know the bigger question is would the bank give me a couple of million to buy it , well i can cross that bridge if i get that far but i would like to get myself into a position where i can step in (when not if) the **** hits the fan . The general feeling in there is that the whole place could be gone in a matter of months.

Anyway i would love to know what you think

If this post is out of order i apologise and please feel free to remove it , i have done my best not to mention the company / employees or give away any information that might lead somebody to know who it might be.

Zonua

Wow.
I stand to be corrected but as far as I know, what you are suggesting to do is probably illegal, most definitely if you are a shareholder. Apart from that, it is highly immoral.
Surely the right thing to do is to report A to B and C, keep your job, and don't let more people unneccessarily lose their jobs, or be partially responsible for a company going under.

bayles wrote: »

Im posting this regarding a particular situation that i find myself in and would like to see what people think might be the best course of action to take (if any) .
I cant mention names or the company so i hope you can follow it .

I work for company "X" , this company is managed by a person "A" and an assistant manager "B" . There is also a another part of the business that is managed by "C" .
Now the way this works is "A" manages the entire business but mainley the retail end and "B" has the same roll but his main focus is on another part of the business even though "C" is the manager in there , confusing i know but its how it is set up.

My roll in the company is to try and get sales in through materials and equipment that we can supply , however on the run up to christmas this was going slow so because of my background and expertise i was moved into "C"s department till things picked up.

Given my roll in the company i am privey to certain information that others are not and what has become apparent is that "A" is "cooking the books" at the risk of bringing down the whole business . To explain in a bit more detail , "A"s background is retail was a manager in a big department store so this is why "A" looks after the retail end of things however sales in the retail are so poor that "C"s department carries the whole organisation so in order to make it look good on paper for the directors "A" is putting sales from the "C"s department through the retail end to boost figures if you know what i mean . So on paper it looks like "A"s end is doing fine when in reality its the dead wood of the business and should be shut down .

The consiquence of this is that now it looks like "C"s department is making losses when infact the opposite is the case but if the retail end of things was to close down "A" would be out on the street because there is no need for him and he is not going to let that happen , he is prepared to bring the whole thing down .
In the last week there have been 5 redundancies , .

Here is my big question , "C"s department is the thriving part of that whole place and is making money , based on the information that you are now equipped with could you see any way that i would be able to step in and take over that end of the business . To put it in perspective can you imagine owning the only pub in the town ?? that will give you an indication as to how big the losses being made are and the potential in "C"s department also given the fact that it is the only one in the town .

My dilema is that i cant go to the bank with hear say and speculation and also given the fact that the information is highly sensitave i could find myself in a lot of hot water if it was to get out . Im kind of in limbo on this because i can see the whole business falling down from the inside and i know i can make a success of it but i dont know how to get my hands on it (just the "C"s department that is , not the retail end i dont want that). I cant approach the existing owners what the hell would i say , if administrators come in they will run it so how would i get it off them and if recievers come in they will sell the whole place off , i dont want the whole place .

For me to start fresh in a new building would be crazy and probably financialy impossible this company has existing account holders and is pulling in fantastic business so its the best way forward if i could get it . Is there any avenue i could go down to try and get my hands on this place or am i just wasting my time thinking about it . Even if i go to a bank with a business plan what do i base it on ? the company hasent folded and is not for sale (yet) and if it does come onto the market i know the figures that that would be shown are more than likley wrong . I know the bigger question is would the bank give me a couple of million to buy it , well i can cross that bridge if i get that far but i would like to get myself into a position where i can step in (when not if) the **** hits the fan . The general feeling in there is that the whole place could be gone in a matter of months.

Anyway i would love to know what you think

If this post is out of order i apologise and please feel free to remove it , i have done my best not to mention the company / employees or give away any information that might lead somebody to know who it might be.

Trojan

I'm not 100% on what you're suggesting there OP, but if you are thinking about trying to profit on the back of someone else's dodgy dealing then I would advise against that in the strongest manner. I think you should be talking to the business owner or the board of directors.

You might want to run it by a solicitor or accountant before taking any action, be careful, and act only in a morally correct way, and keep a paper trail.

(I'm going to temporarily lock this discussion until local mods get a chance to evaluate.)

Axwell

Agree with Trojan, sounds like you are trying to benefit from what you know regarding the dodgey dealings going on and using that put yourself in a better position. Your interests seem to lie in the wrong place, as suggested you should be talking to the owners or directors. As pointed out it might be no harm also considering talking to a solicitor before making any accusations.

Thread closed