Who's who on Noble's independent board panel

Singapore

NOBLE Group's board of directors has set up an independent board committee to review its accounting practices, months after being in the spotlight over critics' accusations of poor governance and lack of transparency.

Shares of the Singapore-listed, Hong Kong-based commodities group have fallen by more than 40 per cent since Iceberg Research issued its first report in mid-February, questioning its accounting policies.

The little-known research house had alleged that Noble overstated the value of associated companies on its balance sheet and systematically inflated the profits it recorded from long-term contracts - all of which have been denied and refuted by Noble.

Noble has claimed that the allegations were made by a "disgruntled" former employee and has started legal action in Hong Kong against the former employee that it had fired in 2013.

The group, which has US$17 billion in total committed and uncommitted bank facilities as at March 31, 2015, said that the latest move was in the "interests of transparency".

The new committee is made up of four non-executive directors of Noble - Paul Brough (as chairman), Irene Lee, Richard Margolis and Christopher Pratt.

The committee has in turn appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) to conduct an assurance review of Noble's mark to market (MTM) models, valuations, and governance framework - contentious issues raised by critics including Iceberg, American shortseller Muddy Waters and Michael Dee, a former chief executive for South-east Asia at Morgan Stanley.

According to critics, MTM calculations used to value assets can be subjective and lead to inflated results.

On completion of the PwC review, the committee will report to the board and a summary of the review will be released, Noble said.

BT takes a closer look at the committee members:

Paul Brough

Irene Lee

Richard Margolis

Christopher Pratt

READ MORE: Noble bites bullet, undertakes review of accounting practices