Wentworth will review accounting practices

THE NEW board at Wentworth International intends to commission an independent review of the company's past accounting practices, writes John Shepherd. The company has had to restate last year's profits.

Yesterday Robert Gill, chairman of the packaging and polythene maker, which is 62 per cent owned by Banque Indosuez, said he was correcting 'fundamental errors' in the profit and loss account for the year to March 1991.

Profits of pounds 1.2m for 1990-91 have been cut to pounds 63,000. Losses of pounds 4.4m were incurred in 1991-2 and, for the half-year to September, the company lost pounds 1.8m.

Mr Gill said past accounting practices had been 'at the cutting edge'. Several had proved to have 'overstated both the past profitability and net assets of the group'.

'We have now adopted mainstream accounting practices and we have got to reduce borrowings to get into a more comfortable situation,' he added. Debt of pounds 17m is supported by less than pounds 11m shareholders' funds.

Wentworth is suing Haque Khan, its former chairman and chief executive who retired early in July, for pounds 1.5m. A counter-claim has been made.