New Zealand Post Undertaking External Audit

New Zealand Post said today that it had appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers to undertake an independent external audit of elements of its operations and those of its international subsidiary Transend.

This followed the receipt of two anonymous letters from employees of New Zealand Post that expressed concerns around the appointment of staff, expenditure approvals, and operational and business strategies.

“New Zealand Post has robust policies and procedures in place to manage all expenditure, the appointment of personnel and strategy decision making. The financial accounts are subject to an annual audit process,” said Dr Ross Armstrong, Chairman of New Zealand Post.

“The two letters are anonymous and the claims unsubstantiated. However, our priority is to ensure a thorough investigation so that the public, our Shareholders and staff can have ongoing confidence in the integrity and direction of Transend and New Zealand Post.

“The audit is expected to be completed by mid May.”

New Zealand Post has notified the Shareholding Minister and the Office of the Auditor General about the issue and the process in place. It is New Zealand Post’s intention to release the audit findings to both parties.

The issues were first raised in an anonymous letter to a member of the Board on 19 January and a further letter on 21 March. These were considered by the full Board on 21 March. The Board developed procedures for an investigation of the issues raised and appointed independent auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers on 29 March.

ENDS

© Scoop Media