Oceana, which is dealing with issues around delayed results, axing of senior staff as well as suspensions and resignations, including by PwC as its auditor, has announced the appointment of a new company secretary.
The Lucky Star owner said Nicole Morgan, an admitted attorney of the high court with 12 years' corporate law experience, would be filling the position left open by Adela Fortune, who left the company in mid-March, "to pursue other opportunities".
Fortune’s resignation followed the resignation of CEO Imran Soomra. The company’s CFO Hajra Karrim, who had been suspended since February, was eventually fired in June for "gross negligence".
In May, PwC resigned as external auditor because of a "strained" relationship with Oceana, and a lack of transparent communication with the board, amid a tumultuous period at the company.
Since October last year, the company delayed the publication of its financial results for the year to end-September 2021 several times due to two accounting issues. The JSE previously warned that the company's listing would be suspended if it didn't submit its annual report.
The accounting issues relate to the treatment of the group's 25% shareholding in US-based Westbank Fishing and the dating of signatures on an internal document relating to a $4-million insurance claim that was paid out to Oceana.
A forensic investigation by ENSafrica found no evidence of "fraud, misappropriation or loss of funds or management of override of controls arising from any of the matters raised".
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