WANdisco confirms £12m impact of fraud investigation as findings handed to auditors

An investigation into potential fraud at Yorkshire tech firm WANdisco has confirmed the events are likely to have falsified nearly £12m ($15m) of revenue for 2022.

The Sheffield and California-based data specialist has been looking into its books following "irregularities" coming to light that centre on one senior salesperson. Investors have previously been told the potential fraud, which is to do with received purchase orders and related revenue and bookings, could knock WANdisco's 2022 unaudited revenue from about £19.2m ($24m) to just £7.7m ($9.7m) - raising concerns about the company's future as a going concern.

Now an investigation led by FRP Advisory and recently appointed industry veteran Ken Lever has concluded that all purchase orders concerned with the unnamed senior salesperson are illegitimate. The firm says it cannot be totally sure that some of its customers have unwittingly or unknowingly paid an unauthorised third party for its products, but has stressed there is no credible evidence to support the notion.

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Findings from the investigation will now be passed to WANdisco's auditors to complete the 2022 accounts, and FRP is advising the firm on tightening up of its internal processes. The update follows the resignations of the company's co-founder and CEO, David Richards, and chief financial officer, Erik Miller.

The firm said previously "the board changes are not connected to the findings to date of the independent investigation". Meanwhile, as the search for a replacement CEO is underway, Ijoma Maluza has become interim chief financial officer.

Ken Lever, executive chairman of WANdisco, said: "We are pleased to receive these findings, which confirm the limits of the impact of the identified irregularities in line with our announcement of April 3. The board remains squarely focused on workstreams to lift the suspension of our shares as soon as is practicable and position WANdisco for long-term growth and success."

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