Findings from special audit of Cedar Strategic's accounts published

CEDAR Strategic Holdings has displayed numerous weaknesses and/or lapses in corporate governance, internal controls, and possible non-compliance with the Catalist Board rules, according to the special auditors' report by Baker Tilly Consultancy.

The special auditor was appointed by the board of Cedar Strategic Holdings in April this year to conduct an independent review of the firm's accounts for financial years 2013 and 2014 to uncover any potential irregularity.

The issues highlighted by the independent auditor concerned its divestment of the titanium dioxide business, the acquisition and proposed divestment of Trechance Group, the acquisition and divestment of Yess Le Green and West Thames, the acquisition of Futura, severance payments, and disbursements.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Cedar Strategic Holdings said it is actively looking at the current issues faced by the company, and has appointed various professionals, including Drew & Napier and Yuan Tai, to look at various matters, including but not limited to taking legal actions or reporting the incidents to the relevant authorities.

Baker Tilly is also assisting the current board to implement an enterprise risk management system for the group.