Auditor quizzed at Nathans hearing

Nathans director Roger Moses. Photo / Paul Estcourt

The auditors of collapsed Nathans Finance reviewed and signed its financial statements as accurate and correct, a court heard yesterday.

The case between the Crown and the former directors of Nathans continued in the High Court at Auckland this week.

Chris Hughes, a partner of auditor Staples Rodway, yesterday spoke of documents he signed on the accuracy of Nathans' financial documents.

Crown lawyer Nick Williams asked Hughes whose responsibility it was, the auditors or the directors, that financial documents were correct.

Hughes said it was the directors' responsibility. He agreed the process of submitting documents for audit should be done in good faith.

But Nathans receiver PricewaterhouseCooper feels the auditors should be held responsible for signing those documents.

PWC has begun proceedings against Nathans' auditors and the former directors for alleged breaches of the Companies Act and for breach of contract and negligence.

No hearing date has been set for these proceedings.

Mervyn Doolan, Donald Young and Roger Moses are on trial for six alleged breaches of the Securities Act.

They pleaded not guilty in March.

A fourth director, John Hotchin, pleaded guilty in February and agreed to be a Crown witness as part of a reduced sentence.

The directors are defending allegations that the statements they issued concerning related party lending (to VTL), the quality of Nathans loan book, its loan management practices and its management of liquidity were untrue.

At the date of Nathans receivership, parent company VTL owned several vending machine businesses.

Nathans was primarily set up as a funding vehicle for VTL.

Shortly after Nathans was placed into receivership, the directors of VTL, also the directors of Nathans, reported a loss of $133 million for the 14-month period ended August 31, 2007.