Boosey & Hawkes shares hit by accounts errors

Shares in Boosey & Hawkes, the musical instrument maker and music publisher, plummeted nearly 30 per cent yesterday after the company said a further write-down of £11.9m was required as a result of accounting errors at its US distribution company.

Shares in Boosey & Hawkes, the musical instrument maker and music publisher, plummeted nearly 30 per cent yesterday after the company said a further write-down of £11.9m was required as a result of accounting errors at its US distribution company.

"Investigations have now been completed and the final auditors' report has revealed a series of fundamentally incorrect and highly misleading accounting entries over several years ... of BHMI [Boosey & Hawkes Musical Instruments].... As a consequence, a further write-down of £11.9m will be required," the company said. The shares closed down 55p at 147.5p.

In September, the group said it had suffered a failure of internal controls at BHMI and made a provision of £3.5m for bad debts at the time. The company said yesterday it had dismissed those BHMI directors responsible for the accounting failures and was considering legal action against them. The music company added that it was appointing independent investigating accountants to review the group's means of redress against all parties involved.