Speedy enquiry over

18 May 2023

Speedy has completed the investigation into the issue relating to its non-itemised assets, first notified by the company in February, and has found no evidence of fraudulent activity.

Following a comprehensive count of all hire equipment in preparation for the audit for the financial year ended 31 March 2023, the company identified a deficiency in the value of non-itemised assets (equipment without a unique serial identifier such as scaffolding tower, fencing and non-mechanical plant) of approximately £20.4m, as reported on the blog at the time. 

The Speedy board has concluded that the issue resulted from problems with the company's controls and accounting procedures for non-itemised assets over a number of years, and in particular the reconciliation of such counts to the group's fixed asset register.

It also states that the issue was not the result of underlying systemic fraud perpetrated on the company by its staff or third parties.

In addition to corrective action and new controls implemented by management, the board has agreed a remedial plan to further strengthen the financial control environment for managing non-itemised assets and provide assurance for the relevant accounting values. This includes additional counts of the assets and new procedures for reconciling those against its fixed asset register.

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