Executives at Jamaica Broilers Group (JBG) have expressed deep concerns over the failure of multiple audit teams to detect a significant, multi-year fraud within the company’s US operations. CEO Chris Levy highlighted the oversight failure as a critical issue requiring further investigation. The fraud, which involved concealing costs in biological assets and inventory accounts while understating vendor financing, led to a staggering $46 billion in financial adjustments. Despite three layers of auditors—including those from the US banking syndicate and JBG’s own auditors—issuing clean opinions on financial statements, the irregularities were ultimately uncovered by an internal whistleblower. Ian Parsard, Senior Vice President of Finance and Corporate Planning, expressed astonishment at the systemic failure, noting the coordinated efforts by leadership to evade detection. The company has since implemented sweeping reforms, including replacing its US accounting team, changing auditors, and introducing new controls with IBM’s assistance. The new auditors bring specific poultry industry expertise, enabling them to identify irregularities previously overlooked. This case raises broader questions about the effectiveness of audits in complex, multi-jurisdictional organizations and underscores the potential for determined management to bypass even robust financial oversight systems. For JBG, the fallout has been severe, necessitating a complete financial restructuring and eroding shareholder trust.
JBG chief questions how auditors missed massive fraud as multiple checks failed to detect $46b irregularities
