Media Coverage
"Woodford, 51, recounted how he had just returned from Hong Kong, having fled Tokyo after a board meeting in which Olympus Chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa had fired him. The cause for dismissal, according to Woodford: his insistence that Olympus officials come clean about a series of questionable purchases dating to 2006, totaling $1.6 billion, none of which had been adequately reported in the company’s consolidated financial statements… Woodford, frustrated by the board’s stonewalling, had hired the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct an independent audit of the suspicious transactions. For several weeks leading up to his dismissal, he had been calling the board to account for these transactions, and eventually demanded the board’s resignation. Instead, Woodford was purged. And now he was running for his life." – Bloomberg Businessweek, Feb. 16, 2012
The above excerpt comes from one of the most in-depth articles regarding Michael Woodford and the crisis at Olympus Corporation – Bloomberg Businessweek’s, “
The Story Behind the Olympus Scandal,” by Karl Taro Greenfeld, published Feb. 16, 2012.
There have been many news articles written about Woodford as a whistleblower and the alleged fraud at Olympus. Here is a small sampling of them, by most recent publishing date:
Ex-Olympus CEO Woodford Settles Unfair-Firing Lawsuit
Bloomberg, May 29, 2012
New Olympus Board Faces Scrutiny
CNN, April 20, 2012
Ex-Olympus CEO’s Next Gig: Books and Movies?
The Wall Street Journal, March 27, 2012
Ousted Woodford Launches Olympus Lawsuit
Reuters, March 1, 2012
The View from ACFE Japan on the Olympus Fraud Case
ACFE Insights, Feb. 29, 2012
Top Olympus Lender Denies Board Ambush, But May Fill Chair
Reuters, Feb. 22, 2012
The Story Behind the Olympus Scandal
Bloomberg Businessweek, Feb. 16, 2012
Olympus Ex-Chairman Kikukawa, Six Others Arrested
Bloomberg Businessweek, Feb. 16, 2012
Ex-Olympus Executives Arrested in $1.7B Scandal
CNN, Feb. 16, 2012
A $1.7 Billion Fraud Born of Earnings Management and a Poor Ethical Culture
ACFE Insights, Feb. 6, 2012
Michael Woodford: Whistleblower of the Year
The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 14, 2012
Woodford to Sue Olympus Over Firing, Drops CEO Bid
Reuters, Jan. 6, 2012
To support media articles about Woodford, Olympus and any fraud-related subject matter, interviews can be arranged with key ACFE contacts, including:
James D. Ratley, CFE
President Emeritus
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Read James Ratley’s bio
Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA
President and CEO
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Read Bruce Dorris' bio
Andi McNeal, CFE, CPA
Director of Research
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
For media inquiries and/or to arrange an interview, please contact Sarah Hofmann, CFE ACFE Public Information Officer:
shofmann@ACFE.com, (512) 478-9000, ext. 324.