Fast Fashion Companies Cause Audit Problems for Mike Ashley
Problems: Mike Ashley
Two fashion chains within Mike Ashley’s fashion empire have been hit by audit problems.
Accountants at Cooper Parry were unable to verify almost £7m in wages and salary payments at I Saw It First, which was bought by Frasers Group for £1 in July 2022.
And Hart Shaw, accountant at Choice, which bought Frasers Group from JD Sports in late 2022, said crucial information needed to complete their work was missing.
The audit problems have raised fresh concerns about corporate governance standards at entrepreneur Ashley’s fashion empire.
The Financial Reporting Council previously investigated the accounts of Sports Direct International – later renamed Frasers – for the 12 months to April 2016. It fined Sports Direct’s former auditor, Grant Thornton, £1.3m for “serious failings” in auditing the retailer’s accounts.
According to I Saw It First, some payroll data was lost during the transition to Frasers Group’s accounting systems.
A Frasers spokesperson said: ‘A limited set of I Saw It First payroll data is no longer accessible as it was not migrated into Frasers Group systems during the post-acquisition integration process. In addition, the I Saw It First system in which the data was stored no longer exists.’
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