The excellent column “The Auditors Who Refused to Buckle” (Editor’s Note, April 21-27), about Oceana and the shenanigans going on at that company, would indicate that PwC should take a bow.
However, as this is the first year in which PwC is sole auditor of Oceana — having taken over from Deloitte — it does raise questions about recent historic audits, as the same management and board were largely in place.
Also interesting is that the company has a value of R7.4bn. Its main asset, arguably, is the Lucky Star brand, valued in the latest Brand Finance SA Top Brands survey at R1.071bn.
That’s a chunky portion of the total value of the company — a reason the value of brands should be taken more seriously. After all, brands can be bought and sold like any asset.
Jeremy Sampson
MD, Brand Finance Africa
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