The Bottom of a Large Company Does a Good Job - Chapter 333



Only Noblemtl

Episode 333. Judgment (2)

The director’s face darkened at Chae Kyung-jun’s declaration.

It’s not that I didn’t know.

The director was also thinking about it.

It’s literally a gray area.

It is an earring when hung on the ear, and a nose ring when hung on the nose.

In some ways it is white, but some may say it is closer to black.

In law, think of it as a net.

It seems like it could easily slip through the gaps in the net, but it’s bigger than expected and could get caught in the net.

You never know if it will work or not until you try.

You have to fight it at the Financial Supervisory Service or in court.

The director thought there was a good chance of winning, but Chae Kyung-jun judged it to be fraudulent accounting.

The fact that a third party said so meant that there was an objective possibility that it would happen.

It’s not a good sign.

“I have thoroughly reviewed it. I think there are plenty of ways to get out.”

The manager protested.

Chae Kyung-jun also agreed.

“That’s true. But the other party is the Financial Supervisory Service. You know how government agencies work. They’ll try to find a loophole. And they have plenty of sources to attack. If they find out about the contract with Quintress, they’ll cling to it.”

It was clear circumstantial evidence proving intent.

If just one or two internal documents were leaked here, it would be the icing on the cake.

If they come in for a search and seizure, it’s over.

Chae Kyung-jun’s worries were also justified.

“Then what do you want me to do? Are you going to turn things back to how they were before?”

The manager said bluntly.

It was an unusual remark for an executive of a large corporation, but the director was very anxious at the moment.

I have been losing sleep over the past few days after realizing that capital erosion is unavoidable.

This is the best solution I could come up with after racking my brain.

I was already feeling anxious, and then out of nowhere, a team leader barged in and dug up my hidden weakness.

It was understandable that I felt bad.

Chae Kyung-jun blinked and spoke in a low tone.

“Calm down. I never said to change things back to the way they were.”

“Then what do you want?”

Chae Kyung-jun made a face as if to say, “Isn’t that obvious?”

“It’s for the company’s benefit.”

“yes?”

The manager, not understanding the situation, asked back.

“I am not from the Financial Supervisory Service or the prosecution. I am also from Taesung.”

“No, then why did you come into our company and find our weaknesses?”

Chae Kyung-jun’s face changed strangely.

The response was, “Why are you asking such an obvious thing?”

“I’m trying to deal with the accident. It’s clear what happened, but when it’s revealed later, we need to know in advance whether Taesung was affected or not before we can take action.”

“So you’re saying that you investigated to cover up the incident?”

Chae Kyung-jun looked frustrated.

“Whether to cover it up or dig it up is a decision that has to be made after a clear understanding of the situation. You have to calculate which way will be more beneficial to the company. Up until now, it has been a background investigation for that.”

The director’s eyes became heavy.

Come to think of it, Chae Kyung-jun has never said anything to the director like, “What did you do wrong?” or “Creative accounting is bad?”

I just checked the facts.

Since the process seemed to be questioning the director in charge, I thought that Chae Kyung-jun had come to attack Taesung Bio.

“Wait a minute. Then how are you going to make the decision? Are you going to report it to President Kwon Tae-ho?”

It was inevitable.

If possible, I wanted to handle it quietly so that it wouldn’t reach my superiors’ ears.

However, the strategy room had already been dispatched, and the author, who was Kwon Tae-ho’s secretary, knew all about the situation.

Chae Kyung-jun, who came in with the help of Kwon Tae-ho’s authority, couldn’t possibly skip the report.

In that case, now we have no choice but to persuade Chae Kyung-jun.

It was the moment when the director, who had made up his mind, was about to open his mouth.

“I know what you’re trying to say. I know the struggles you went through to get to this point. I know it was the best thing to do under the circumstances.”

The manager looked surprised.

I didn’t even expect you to understand.

I thought I was lucky not to be criticized.

Chae Kyung-jun added.

“Oh, that doesn’t mean that creative accounting is good. Don’t get me wrong. Creative accounting is illegal. I just mean that I understand the situation. The background to how this happened and how it came to this.”

Chae Kyung-jun said bluntly.

It’s true that creative accounting is bad.

But it’s also true that the director had no choice.

“We can’t let the company lose capital just because of a single number on the ledger. I can see how much trouble you’ve put in just by dragging us into the gray area.”

The director felt his heart sink.

So far, I have talked to CEOs and experts from accounting firms, but the person in charge of financial management felt the most burden.

Someone appeared who acknowledged the agony and effort of such a director.

Because he was a complete stranger and not an official of Taesung Bio, his words were even more valuable.

Even though the other person was a team leader with a lower status than me, I felt acknowledged.

‘Oh my, what is this… … .’

As the director was clearing his throat, Chae Kyung-jun’s eyes became sharp again.

“This is not the time to be complacent, Director. Do you think the Financial Supervisory Service doesn’t know what even a second-year employee can point out?”

The director felt speechless.

It’s not because it’s plausible.

‘Where do you see that it’s just the second year… … ?’

Your colleague is copying documents in the office next door right now.

I swallowed what I wanted to say.

Well, that’s not entirely wrong.

Although the team leader’s statement that he was simply in his second year was somewhat exaggerated, it was unlikely that the Financial Supervisory Service would ignore this.

It’s bound to come up.

“I know. That’s why I reviewed it.”

The director also had something to say.

Chae Kyung-jun nodded.

“Yes. I guess you did it this way because you thought there was a good chance of success after reviewing the results.”

But Chae Kyung-jun’s expression was not refreshing.

It seemed like there was something on his mind.

“Is there something wrong?”

His tone of voice was cautious, as if he were speaking to the president.

It’s not because Kwon Tae-ho is behind Chae Kyung-jun.

Didn’t Chae Kyung-jun alone already uncover the problems at Taesung Bio and understand the entire situation?

What’s here isn’t Kwon Tae-ho, it’s Chae Kyung-jun.

He only used Kwon Tae-ho’s influence in the beginning, but everything he did here was due to Chae Kyung-jun’s ability.

Perhaps because of that, I felt a sense of pressure as if I was standing right in front of the president.

His low rank and age were only obstacles that clouded his vision.

Given his ability to read situations in such a short period of time, you should never look down on him as a team leader.

That’s why I became curious.

I wonder what conclusion this young team leader will reach.

I clearly said that earlier.

Thinking about the company’s interests.

How will Chae Kyung-jun handle this situation?

“I said earlier that I understand the director’s actions, but I don’t think they are right.”

As expected, the director was slightly disappointed.

Is this guy similar to other young people?

That it’s bad, that it’s wrong.

Are you going to say that the company should go on the right path even if it suffers losses?

What if, in the end, the company, with its capital eroded, goes down the path of delisting and collapse?

“Are you saying that we should revise the financial statements and resubmit them? Or revert them back to the original?”

“No. Let’s go like this.”

“yes?”

The manager thought he had misheard and asked again.

Chae In-ha, who was standing next to him, also looked at him with a surprised expression.

But Chae Kyung-jun was resolute.

“It’s already happened. If we undo it, it’ll get even weirder. Think about it. Isn’t re-disclosing financial statements an admission of wrongdoing? Taesung Bio is not a neighborhood hole-in-the-wall store. If we re-disclose, the whole country will know. It’s no different from telling people that we have a problem.”

The director nodded and expressed his admiration.

Chae Kyung-jun was now speaking without any distinction between good and evil, but only with the company’s interests in mind.

I know that creative accounting is bad.

I don’t do it on purpose and I don’t recommend it.

Although it is a gray area, I know that it can easily lead to creative accounting.

But what if it’s the best thing for the company?

Accept without hesitation.

This was a way of thinking that even the most accomplished executives would find difficult to adopt.

Normally, people would express their rejection out of fear of being caught and the guilt of committing an illegal act such as creative accounting.

Still, there’s nothing I can do.

Ultimately, you have to make decisions without any emotions involved.

In Chae Kyung-jun’s case, there was no intermediate process.

‘Is this okay?’

We’ve brought in many bosses.

I got sick of seeing my boss reacting with emotion rather than logic.

But when I actually saw someone acting like that, I got a little scared.

It became even more difficult to identify the young man in front of me.

Despite the director’s confusion, Chae Kyung-jun continued the story.

“But the director didn’t do a good job either.”

The manager was confused.

Clearly, Chae Kyung-jun also acknowledged it.

I think this would have been the best option in that situation.

You said you understood, and now you’re saying it was wrong?

What rhythm are you talking about?

Chae Kyung-jun said calmly.

“The company certainly has a chance. Since we’ve entered a gray area, it will depend on how accounting standards and laws are interpreted. If it goes to court, we have a higher chance of winning. However, as I said earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service will definitely find fault with it. There will be articles. The Financial Supervisory Service begins investigating Taesung Bio’s alleged fraudulent accounting.”

The director’s face darkened.

This was expected, but there was nothing I could do about it.

The moment the Financial Supervisory Service starts to sniff around, reporters will naturally start to sniff around as well.

It takes a long time for a trial to determine whether or not there was fraudulent accounting.

Several years will pass.

But what shareholders have in front of them are the Financial Supervisory Service’s attacks and media articles.

The moment the headline “Suspicion of Fraudulent Accounting” appears in the newspaper, Taesung Bio’s stock price will dive to the floor.

Accounting is difficult.

Do you think the general public will understand if you explain that it is not true?

Even if you win the trial, it will already be several years later.

The name Taesung Bio is after it fell to the ground.

However, there can be no future in which the Financial Supervisory Service ignores this.

The Financial Supervisory Service is not stupid.

If a company that has been in the red for years suddenly turns a profit, it is only natural that people will dig into it.

Because that’s what they do.

“Isn’t this really unavoidable?”

“You can reduce it.”

What is this?

The manager had a hard time keeping up with the conversation today.

I was the one who usually led the conversation.

The conversation with Chae Kyung-jun was so difficult.

There were too many things skipped here and there.

I wanted to look inside his head.

Chae Kyung-jun tilted his head as if he didn’t understand why, then scratched his head and said, “Ah.”

Since I’ve been talking to people like Kwon Tae-ho up until now, I thought he’d understand even if I just threw out a topic like this.

But the director was a different kind of person.

The work is done well.

He has the skills and can improvise to some extent.

However, I was weak at reading people.

Chae Kyung-jun explained step by step.

“Do you remember why I judged it to be fraudulent accounting? Intentional. The reason for making a profit was to prevent capital erosion.”

Does this mean we should eliminate intentionality?

You can do that by eliminating the reason.

The director’s eyes widened.

“Is there any way to prevent capital erosion?”

“No, we’re focusing on the other side. It’s not about preventing capital erosion, it’s about reclassification.”

The value of the company was evaluated by reclassifying it from a subsidiary to an associated company.

The profits from there are what made it a black ink.

The reclassification here lacked justification.

The company will argue this:

‘Quintress asked to reflect the call option effect in the ledger because she was thinking of exercising the call option. She just changed it to a related company because the possibility of it becoming more likely increased.’

The Financial Supervisory Service will argue like this.

‘That’s because I want to see the ledger that reflects it accurately. Have you ever expressed your intention to exercise the call option? There’s no evidence, right?’

Chae Kyung-jun continued speaking.

“We need to make sure that the Financial Supervisory Service doesn’t find fault with it. We need to come up with a reasonable reason for a subsidiary to become an affiliate.”

The manager’s mouth opened wide.