Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts

Chapter 167

Ines spent her entire weekend at the Military, and was driven home Sunday night. Looking at the wedding photo of her and Ethan in the living room, she was deeply moved. That night, Ethan still called to talk to her, and she wound up pestering him to sing a song before she let him off the hook.

The next morning, when Ines arrived at the firm, there were a few troublemakers standing outside the office, arguing with the security guards. Listening carefully, they were cursing the firm.

"I've always trusted you guys, but all you do is pull the wool over our eyes. Now the Huner Corporation is bankrupt and I've lost all the money I've worked hard for over the past twenty years. The financial fraud of Huner Corporation is so severe, yet you guys have the nerve to say their financial reports are fine."

"Yeah, don't say that you didn't notice anything, where's your professional skepticism?"

"You guys are just turning a blind eye, completely disregarding the interests of us investors."

The speakers were very emotional and the situation was chaotic. Ines vaguely heard that it was some stock market losers causing a ruckus, but she didn't know the specifics.

A security guard who knew her quickly ushered her upstairs, "Ms. Galeana, you better get upstairs. These people are very upset right now, I'm worried they might do something rash. Go up and tell your colleagues not to come down."

Ines nodded and without hesitation, headed for the elevator.

As she passed the conference room, Ines noticed many unfamiliar faces- some higher-ups she didn't often see. Jaime and several project managers were there, all with serious expressions, apparently in an emergency meeting.

Ines also felt that the atmosphere at the firm was unusual today. Everyone looked downcast and spiritless. She asked her colleagues, "What the hell happened today?"

A female colleague handed her a newspaper, looking equally grim, "Ines, just read this and you'll know." Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Ines read yesterday's paper and found out that Huner Corporation was involved in the most serious financial fraud scandal in the country. The management was accused of neglecting their duties over the past three years, consistently manipulating financial statements, and misleading investors for personal gain.

Huner Corporation was their long-term audit client. Now that the scandal had broken, the firm was facing the threat of a lawsuit.

Ines was also silent after reading. This kind of thing had never happened before. Most firms, when faced with dishonest clients, would choose to terminate the business agreement to reduce their own risk.

Huner Corporation, which Ines was familiar with, was a large domestic gas production group. In recent years, it had been growing rapidly, its stock price soaring, attracting many investors.

After a while, Amelia came over after the meeting, "Everyone, just keep your cool, and don't go downstairs."

Then, she gave Ines a look, Ines knew she had something to say, so she followed her to her office.

"Izzy, did you watch the news yesterday?"

"I didn't read the newspaper, I just found out about the situation."

Amelia nodded. Ines couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Amelia, did our firm know about this?" The audit team is made up of professionals. They should have noticed such obvious issues. How could they let things get this far?

Amelia sighed, "Huner Corporation's finances have been problematic for a few years now. It's related to their corporate culture. Their management is too eager for quick success and instant benefits, pursuing high profits, high stock prices, and high growth as their business goals, aligning everything with profits. In recent years, there's been a lot of turnover among the managers. It was only a matter of time before something went wrong."

Ines frowned, "Then why would the firm take on such a client, why not terminate the contract earlier?"

According to domestic bankruptcy law, after Huner Corporation's bankruptcy, taxes and employee wages should be paid first. The assets, which were already worthless, couldn't possibly be distributed to ordinary investors. No wonder people were making a scene at the firm.

Amelia sighed, "It was the decision of the senior management. We had no say in it. Initially, they probably thought it was mutually beneficial, but seeing the problem getting bigger, they probably got scared and planned to terminate the contract this year. Unfortunately, they didn't make it over this hurdle." After a pause, "Izzy, you're still new here, so you might not know. Our firm also handles the accounting work for many of Huner Corporation's subsidiaries, and was hired as Huner Corporation's internal auditor, fully responsible for Huner's consulting work. Even the audit manager of our project group used to be the CFO of Huner Corporation." Ines gasped when she heard this, she couldn't believe her firm would dare to do this.

This was a serious violation of the independence provisions in the auditing standards. The consequences were unimaginable. If these could be proven, it would surely mean that the firm

colluded with Huner Corporation in fraud. This would not only lead to lawsuits and compensation, but the entire firm could also face bankruptcy.

This completely destroyed the atmosphere in the auditing industry and the credibility of auditors in the eyes of the public.

"Izzy, I'm telling you this as a friend. If you still want to work, you might want to start looking for a new job. The bankruptcy of the firm is inevitable." Amelia was not worried about Ines's future, she just felt it was necessary to give her a heads up.

Ines was a capable worker, not to mention her husband and father's status. She wouldn't have any problems finding a new job. Ines wasn't worried about this, she just felt a bit uncomfortable. She had chosen this firm because of its strong growth, but she didn't expect such dirty dealings behind the scenes.

"I'm fine, Amelia, you have to be careful. You're currently fighting Leo for custody of your child, you can't afford any mistakes." Ines looked at Amelia with concern.

Amelia gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, "Don't sweat it, I've got this covered. I'm clued up about this stuff and I've got some strings to pull. I've already struck a secret deal with some other companies. I want to focus more on Naomi in the future, so I'm planning to jump ship to another company as their CFO. The salary’s about the same as now, so it won't impact Naomi's child support. The lawyer your husband recommended is top-notch."

Hearing this, Ines breathed a sigh of relief.