When a retail champion like Americanas sinks into a BRL 20 billion hole – and the debt can be twice as much – there are more questions than answers. The main one is serious: was it an error or fraud?
Whose responsibility is it? What is the role of the external auditors, who at the end of last year said that Americanas’ accounting was fine?
Some of the sharpest heads of law in Brazil are already engaged in a fierce legal battle, whose contours are still undefined.
Who is responsible for chasing after the loss, which is estimated to be even greater and is spreading through the capital market, credit market, production and retail structures?
And what about the reputation of reference shareholders who conquered the headlines as wizards of a new kind of capitalism?
But the big, all-encompassing question is the hardest.
Americanas is part of a large international movement around the acronym ESG. Comes from the “E” in English for environment – environment; from the “S” to social – social issues; and the “G” for governance – governance.
In the case of Americanas, everything is very commendable in terms of diversity and environment. But what is the reason for the existence of a company with so many people depending on it? What about governance?
The debate around what happened at Americanas goes far beyond accounting or advocacy issues. It’s almost philosophical: companies exist for what, after all?
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
