
Displaying items by tag: Audit
Kenya: East African Portland Cement (EAPC) has contracted a technical audit from Denmark-based FLSmidth Cement with a value of just under US$70m. EAPC’s acting managing director Mohamed Osman said the findings would guide a pending plant upgrade, to be funded by some of the proceeds from the land sale, according to the Star newspaper. It hopes to double capacity at the unit by the late 2020s without incurring debt. The cement producer is also considering its options to use alternative fuels such as macadamia husks and other agricultural biomass. The 10-week audit process is expected to end in early December 2024.
Osman said “We have tapped FLSmidth to undertake a comprehensive technical audit of the plant, which will assess how to maximise the capacity and inform the design and cost of a new one,'' Osman said. “The audit by FLSmidth will also look at the reserves of raw materials that it has and inform whether it needs to acquire more land that has adequate reserves.”
Saudi Arabia: Al Jouf Cement Company’s board of directors has accepted the resignation of Suleiman Abdulaziz Al-Zaben as chair of its audit committee. Al-Zaben had been serving as committee member from outside the board.
In July 2024, Al Jouf Cement Company took legal action against unnamed former board members, following an investigation into possible ‘administrative irregularities’ by an independent auditor launched in December 2023.
India: The Supreme Court will hear the case against Adani Group over its alleged financial misrepresentation and stock manipulation on 24 November 2023, 24 days after the previous deferred date of 30 October 2023. BusinessWorld News has reported that the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) is currently ‘scrutinising’ the group's auditors, S.R. Batliboi, while the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is investigating British Virgin Islands-based investment fund Gulf Asia Trade & Investment for possible violations of share ownership regulations in connection with the Adani Group.
Adani Group says that it has committed no wrongdoing.
Jaypee Power Ventures considering sale of Nigrie grinding plant
12 December 2022India: Jaypee Power Ventures' board of directors met on 12 December 2022 to discuss the possible sale of the company's Nigrie grinding plant in Madhya Pradesh. Press Trust of India News has reported that parent company Jaiprakash Jaypee Group's audit committee recommended the sale under proposed measures to reduce the group's debt. The producer had been in talks with Adani Group about the possible sale of its cement business, along with other non-core assets, for US$606m in October 2022.
Jaypee Power Ventures operates 4Mt/yr-worth of cement capacity, 40% of Jaypee Group's total 10Mt/yr.
Egypt/Qatar/Russia/Turkey: Dal Engineering Group has released information about recent project from its Dal Teknik Makina subsidiary in Russia, Egypt and Qatar. In Russia Dal Teknik Makina is currently converting a production line at Eurocement’s Zhigulovskiye Stroymaterialy plant in Samara to manufacture white cement. The project started in November 2018.
In Egypt Dal Teknik Makina conducted a technical audit for HeidelbergCement’s Helwan Cement plant in February 2019. It was carried out on clinker production line one. In Qatar Dal Teknik Makina was awarded a contract in February 2019 to install a pilot scale plant for a calcium sulfoaluminate clinker production line. Dal’s engineers will evaluate the concept and identify the possible problems with operation, and supply the complete engineering and instrumentation for the whole project.
Kenya: A government audit has recommended that the Mining Minister suspend the operating licences for Athi River Mining and the East African Portland Cement (EAPCC). The report to the Public Accounts Committee was in response to the companies not paying taxes, according to the Business Daily newspaper. Both cement producers have faced financial difficulties recently.
Adelaide Brighton in legal case over missing millions
25 September 2018Australia: Adelaide Brighton is seeking damages from a former credit manager over US$9m in missing funds. The cement producer has accused former employee Glenda Ivy Burgess of the embezzlement following an internal audit, according to the Advertiser newspaper. Burgess worked for Adelaide Brighton for 18 years but was dismissed in February 2018.
The allegations include misallocating customer payments, falsifying accounts, increasing customer credit limits without authority and providing false information.
The construction company launched a civil lawsuit against Burgess at the same time that a police investigation was ongoing. This has subsequently led to a clash between civil and criminal proceedings as the accused successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to delay the civil case whilst the criminal investigation continues.
CRH audit put out to tender
11 September 2018Ireland: An Euro22bn audit of CRH has been put out to tender, as mandatory rotation rules require it to replace incumbent EY. The move was announced in CRH's 2017 annual report, which said EY would have to be replaced by 2021 in order to comply with European Union (EU) rules designed to increase the independence of auditors.
Ireland has adopted a strict interpretation of the EU rules by requiring financial institutions and listed companies to replace auditors every 10 years. This contrasts with the UK's more liberal regime, which only requires audits to be put out to tender every 10 years, leaving companies free to reappoint their existing auditors. EY is based in the UK. It is possible that CRH may be seeking to reappoint a non-UK firm prior to the UK’s departure from the EU on 29 March 2019.
Government auditor criticises Jammu and Kashmir Cements for allowing contractor to abandon cement plant project
30 January 2017India: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has criticised the management of Jammu and Kashmir Cements for allowing a contractor to abandon a contract to upgrade a cement plant without incurring a financial penalty. The subsequent reduction in production between 2010 and 2014 led the plant to loose an estimated US$5.6m, according to a report seen by the Early Times newspaper.
Engineering contactor Promac Engineering Industries was originally awarded a US$10.5m contact to upgrade the plant in 2005. Work started in June 2006 but the contractor left the site in 2010. The original terms of the agreement required Promac to complete the upgrade within 26 months and pay a financial penalty if the plant’s production capacity fell, if any increase in power or fuel consumption occurred or if the contract was delayed. Additionally, a packing plant that was built as part of the contract remained unused until 2015.
East African Portland Cement annual general meeting cancelled after auditors fail to attend
30 January 2017Kenya: The annual general meeting of the East African Portland Cement company has been cancelled following the non-attendance of the company’s auditors. The meeting requires the presence of the office of the Auditor-General or its appointee Deloitte East Africa to proceed, according to the Business Daily newspaper. The management was unaware that the procedure had changed a company director said. The meeting has been rescheduled for 3 February 2017. The cement producer has a poor corporate governance record following the accusation of its chief executive of sexual harassment and reports of theft of stock in late November 2016, among other incidents.