BT saw £ £145m ($ 9bn ), or two of the company’s value, wiped off shares on October as the full extent of the accounting scandal at the Italian section of the business became apparent. In October , the company said that “improper sales, purchase, factoring and leasing transactions” had led to European earnings being overstated. At the time, BT predicted that the overall cost to its business would be 7bn . The inquiry found “improper accounting practices and a complex set of improper sales, purchase, factoring and leasing transactions”, which meant earnings in the Italian business had been overstated for a number of years. It has now revised that figure to £530m. The announcement, combined with warnings of a slowdown in other operations, resulted in the collapse of share prices.
BT saw £ £145m ($ 9bn ), or two of the company’s value, wiped off shares on October as the full extent of the accounting scandal at the Italian section of the business became apparent. In October , the company said that “improper sales, purchase, factoring and leasing transactions” had led to European earnings being overstated. At the time, BT predicted that the overall cost to its business would be 7bn . It has now revised that figure to £530m. The announcement, combined with warnings of a slowdown in other operations, resulted in the collapse of share prices.