we will wait for the jjudges decision – kpmg

Auditing and accounting firm, KPMG International has assured that they will wait for the decision of the Judges at the Supreme Court as well as the lawyers of both sides; respondents and petitioners in the on-going election petition and then afterwards continue with the work they were called to do.

According to them, the decision of the court to hold on with auditing of the pink sheets is not going to change their commitment or deter them from what they have set out to do.

KPMG International on Monday suspended its auditing of pink sheets because lawyers of the third petitioners raised suspicion that some of the boxes containing the pink sheets have been tempered with.

According to them, the number of boxes has increased.

Speaking to Shamima Muslim in an interview on Citi Eye witness news Monday, Mr Joseph Winful, a senior partner of KPMG indicated that once the issue at stake is a sensitive one, some of these things are bound to happen, adding “the engagement partner on the job himself will be meeting with the two lawyers and we believe they will be able to sort out the issue to get the job going. We don’t want to speculate on anything at all”

He indicated that their firm was not preview to any other audit that was done; ‘if one was done at all’ that probably led to the alleged increment in the boxes containing the pink sheets.

He added that before the decision was taken by the court on Monday, KPMG were not in possession of the pink sheets. He insisted that the firm do not keep the pink sheets; however, it is kept in the office of the registrar at the Supreme Court.

“We are not security officers and we are not ensuring security. We go in there and we are given what we are supposed to work on; with the observers in the room with us and seeing everything that we do and then at the end of the day we give the pink sheets and continue again the next day and so we don’t take custody of anything…

“We are an independent firm and so we go in and do what we are supposed to do. We don’t have any regret at all…this is a human institution. We are patient and we are trying as much as possible to be understanding and if there is the need for us to help in clarifying positions for the parties to understand; we will do that”, he assured.