Originally Posted by
non_state_actor
So why are Deloitte defensive of the Board in the creditor's report? I would have thought if it was that bad then the Board should have the book thrown at them. It reads a bit like Deloitte think they got a bit unlucky. The real financial situation would have been well known at the high levels for years and once Covid turned up surely the first question as a Board Member would be "are we insolvent"? Sure it came undone quickly but they have had many years of losses it wasn't like the financial situation came out of nowhere. Don't they run "stress tests" on the financials in these large operations?
I suspect that Deloitte are taking the view that it's not their job to prosecute the Board (it might be seen as a negative in getting further VA work).
But it is a fairly telling indictment of the management of that joint that they blithely traded insolvent for a month before the Board made the 'courageous' decision to go into voluntary administration. There appears to have been just an appalling lack of financial analysis and reporting. But, in typical Virgin fashion, none of that basic business stuff seemed to matter so long as they 'significantly outperform on culture'.
It would be interesting to re-run that Four Corners story knowing what we know now.