Manipulation, fakery, deception- Business and Market Place (Role of Internal Controls)

The RED FLAGS- Prevention is better than detection

I guess this is a good time to talk about red flags ongoing basis. Balance Sheet looks healthy due to cover up and malpractices. If the cover up is allowed under statute it become creative practice, other wise a malafide intention or fraud. During the beginning of thread my apprehension was reputation damage in case so, but I think experiences can be shared in aggregated manner rather disclosing specific. I have requested few of my old colleagues to share their experiences , not sure they would join but would glad to see them contributing. If anyone in this forum who has experience in areas of risk and controls advisory, business consulting, internal audit, tax, forensic or other advisory please join, I am sure we can help quite a few.

I found it sometime alarming the way people assume certain industries Balance sheet like Media/Entertainment, E-commerce, oil & gas etc are kind of “you get what you see”. In reality these balance sheets are holocaust with myriad of conflicting internal control and accounting practices. So often some of the industries saddled with shoddy practices makes it incredibly complex for a shareholder.

If you don’t flee when you get pinched, you don’t flinch.

Saying that I do agree money making, company selection can still be par excellence despite the complexity. But knowing the nuances behind door can be always handy.

Here we go, my group did a similar exercise back in 2013 covering all major BSE sectors.

In a summary we wanted to check a company with a particular locational foot print (either local or global) how effectively can manage governance and control. In other words what are the KPI I should watch out to know there is no danger flash for this company.

This is only possible with highlighting with case studies, let us pick up one by one. Or else we wont make towards any direction.

Case Study 1: Intangible Asset

This has become den of corporate devils, often manipulated to whims and fancies of concerned. But why would one play around intangible asset? Before that what is intangible asset?

Asset which is not tangible, and what is tangible? Tangible mean creating perception by touch. Even its called real, actual, physical, not vague etc. Does this mean intangible is vague, fictitious, invisible etc. You know why I took to tangible definition, YOU SHOULD SIT UPRIGHT WITH ANY DEFINITION WHICH DRAWS AN EXCLUSIVE CLAUSE FROM UNDERLYING DEFINITION. If I say girl is someone other than boy, a lot may agree though divergence is getting build up at other categories. But what if I say car is the one which is not a bus. The definition of bus is interesting, a large motor vehicle carrying passengers by road typically serving the public route and for a fare. If I take an exclusive definition of car as other than bus, what will happen:

  • does car necessarily need to be small?
  • can it not go other than fixed route?
  • can it not asked for a fare?
  • can it be used for public passenger?

You land up in bizarre inferences from exclusive definition.

Let us apply the analogy of intangible asset in that manner, rather than taking english meaning better use accounting definition.

We call tangible assets as fixed assets in India, which is suppose to be used for purpose of producing goods or providing services but not held for resale in the normal course of business.

Intangible assets is called as intangible, good news. It says non monetary asset without physical substance. But it can include partial tangibleness as compact disc, legal documentation. This can not be held for resale. Non monetary means which can be readily converted to fixed or precisely determinable amount of money. If I am holding a software which can be converted to 100 million tomorrow it may stay out intangible asset definition. There is another two dozens plus interpretation, you can read them here:

Now, how its used by company in a manner which actually harms the benefit of shareholder.

Classification: by showing intangible assets as inventory or vice a versa

  • I show copy right or software product acquired or made as inventory. What happens then? a. I charged off the entire expenses for the period “under purchase”. b. the closing balance of these inventory can be valued at “cost or realisable value which ever is lower”. c. the amount payable to vendor goes pretty much under “creditors” and treated as working capital component. d. I need an auditor certificate every year regarding physical verification of inventory (in this case lots of software helps) and valuation of inventory.
  • Now take the opposite side I show them as intangible asset. a. charges postponed as capitalised, only yearly amortisation will hit the PL. b. on balance sheet date I will show them at cost subject to impairment exercise c. the impairment is 2 step process in USGAAP 1. carrying amount is compared to un discounted cash flow. 2. if the amount of cash flow is higher then calculate impairment based on realisable value and cash flow. c. if assets are not amortised fair value is compared to carrying amount. d. I need a bundle of outsiders assurance 1. impairment advisors independent calculation of fair value say like copy right 2. auditor stamp on valuation basis physical verification.

How does it change the financial landscape:

If my purchase is 5000 and take 2 other variables 1000 as closing inventory and 1000 as amortisation then, 5000 minus 1000 or 4000 will be charged as cost of purchase in PL under inventory. In case of intangible asset its only 1000 which is amortisation cost. So profit is overstated or understated by 3 times depending on way you use. Any profit will have equivalent tax flow impact.

In case of intangible asset my working capital reduced to the extent amount payable to vendors , obviously my cash conversion cycle will look healthier. Reverse is the situation for inventory. The rate of interest on working capital loans are different when you take loans against mortgaged asset. The procedures for taking loan against assets is more stringent.

Research and development

  • If I have been developing a software product which ultimately I sell to customer, till the time product is not released all my costs are build up within R&D. So even if I tinker 5% on a acquired product (basically not in “go to market” stage) I can keep charging all intangible assets procured to R&D.
  • How would it impact? The entire amount charged off say in previous example 5000 against PL.

Lets move from accounting nuances to internal control issues.

A majority of controls is built around fixed assets , our focus is intangible asset.

  1. A control is build around accuracy and validity of resources (costs, overheads) booked under intangible. Right from creating a unique user id to different stages of asset identification.
  2. Report including a bridge report from outsiders to ensure impairment valuations is justified. This is done by mostly professionals.

In my experience though it differs from industries to industries we come across several control failures:

The number of preventive controls are weak in intangible asset due to a. identification of unique asset id is a human decision unlike fixed asset where you get no choice, there would be a bill b. the diversities of intangible asset makes it incredibly difficult for any one to get a comfort on realisable value c. physical verification of asset is quite often not possible, some are supported through softwares….some not.

I wont pull you further now, though may come back with few more points from old notes. Here are the RED FLAGS and how should you show:

Triangulation 1: If intangible asset is more than 50% of balance sheet then how is the ratio maintained for last ten years. If it varies wildly from 30-80 sit upright.

Triangulation 2: Check whether there is loan against intangible asset? Banks don’t prefer if you classify intangible asset, lot of guys prefer to show as inventory so working capital loan is easier. If loan is more than 60-70% of intangible asset then scratch your head.

Triangulation 3: compare intangible assets to sales. If sales remain stagnant and intangible asset is going up then tap your arms, you are about to be in trouble.

Triangulation 4: compare intangible assets to free equity reserves. If the amount of intangible assets is 2 times more of free reserves then deception begins.

Triangulation 5: intangibles without litigation, check notes to accounts and disclosures. Some industries like production houses its considered as healthy to have few litigations.

This is not over, got to go….goodwill is known devil. Sometime else we will regrind this again. Next may be Revenue——-mother ship of all evils.

May be in process we can touch SAS99/SSAE 16 type of critical standards.

Please do read about Tenet Health Care Corp, check their intangible asset to asset ratio and subsequent dhamaka. :slight_smile:

https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2007/2007-60.htm
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/hospital-chain-will-pay-over-513-million-defrauding-united-states-and-making-illegal-payments

Stay safe!

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I think I have pasted wrong links there, this is also case of scam…let it be there. Let me put the extracts of Healthcare Corp Scandal, you can search in google.
This of course includes a whole lot of issue, where intangible asset mattered:

Before the scandal surfaced Healthcare had a intangible asset base of 42% , with 100% plus growth rate YOY.