Auditors raise red flag as Nampack hides ‘other in...

Auditors raise red flag as Nampack hides ‘other information’

Nyashadzashe Ndoro

In a move that potentially creates distrust among the investing public, Deloitte and Touche Zimbabwe auditors have failed to come up with a complete opinion on the inflation adjusted consolidated financial statements on Nampack Zimbabwe Limited (Nampack) because the directors of the leading packaging company controversially failed to release the other information during audit.

The other information comprises the Mission Statement, Financial Highlights, Group Structure, Chairman's statement, Group Managing Director's Report, Directors, Group Management and Administration, Operating Units and Management Structure, Statement of Corporate Governance and Directors Responsibility.

Directors’ Report, Statistics, Preparer of the Financial Statements and the consolidated historic cost financial information, which auditors obtained prior to the date of the latest report. The other information does not include the consolidated financial statements and the auditor’s report thereon.

Directors are responsible for the other information.

Auditors, however, argue that they were not furnished with the other information, hence, they could not provide an opinion covering the other information.

“We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the inflation adjusted Consolidated Financial Statements section of our report.

“We are independent of the Group in accordance with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants' Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (IESBA Cade) together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of inflation adjusted consolidated financial statements in Zimbabwe We have fulfilled our ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the ESBA code. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our qualified opinion,” the auditors noted.

“Our opinion on the inflation-adjusted consolidated financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express an audit opinion or any form of assurance conclusion thereon,” read part of the audit report seen by this publication.

“In connection with our audit of the consolidated statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the inflation adjusted consolidated financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.

“If, based on the work we have performed on the other information that we obtained prior to the date of this auditor’s report, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard,” the audit statement contained in the company's 2023 annual report.