Frasers Group faces a significant accounting issue with a missing £7 million in salary data from its brand, I Saw It First.
- The missing payroll data is attributed to an accounting system error post-acquisition of I Saw It First in July 2022.
- Auditors from Cooper Parry reported their inability to verify the wage payments due to the lost data.
- Frasers Group has not provided additional information regarding the payroll discrepancy.
- This issue emerges amidst Frasers Group’s broader international expansion and acquisition activities.
Frasers Group has encountered a notable accounting challenge involving its owned brand, I Saw It First. The brand, renowned in the online womenswear and menswear sector, is missing about £7 million in salary and wage data, which has been attributed to an accounting system oversight following its acquisition by Frasers Group in July 2022.
Auditors from Cooper Parry have disclosed their inability to verify the substantial wage payments, citing a loss of a ‘limited set of payroll data.’ This unfortunate event has raised significant concerns, as it reflects gaps in post-acquisition integration processes where crucial data was not successfully migrated onto the new parent company’s systems.
Moreover, I Saw It First is not isolated in its audit challenges within the Frasers Group. Another entity, ‘Choice’, a fashion and homeware outlet under the same ownership, also faces audit difficulties. Hart Shaw auditors have reported missing ‘crucial information’ required to finalise their work for Choice. This pattern suggests systemic issues in Frasers Group’s data handling and integration practices.
In a statement to This Is Money, a representative from Frasers Group explained that the payroll data for I Saw It First became inaccessible because it was not transferred to Frasers Group’s own system during integration. The original storage system for this data is no longer operational, exacerbating the problem.
Despite these internal issues, Frasers Group continues to pursue ambitious international growth plans. The company recently announced openings of several Sports World stores across the Netherlands and further expansions in Luxembourg and Belgium before the year’s end. Simultaneously, domestically, the group is progressing with acquisitions, including the impending purchase of Maidstone’s Fremlin Walk shopping centre.
The missing payroll data underscores ongoing integration challenges within Frasers Group amidst its expansion strategies.
