CP ships beefs up financial management

CP Ships Limited (TEU) today announced a strengthened financial management structure, including new senior positions.

David Auger has joined CP Ships as Group Financial Controller. He previously held senior group finance positions in the U.K. with ICI and Invensys and also worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"We will benefit greatly from David's extensive public company experience and are delighted he has joined us," said CFO Ian Webber.

A new position, VP Business Control, has been assumed by David Nicklin, who has held a number of senior financial management positions at CP Ships. In his new role. Nicklin oversees internal financial reporting controls across the group, including continuing maintenance of the new SAP financial accounting processes. He will also lead the senior level task force established to review and strengthen financial controls and related business processes.

In August this year, CP Ships had to restate reviously reported financial results. At that time it said thatimplementation of the new SAP financial accounting system had "revealed some deficiencies in former systems and related business and accounting processes, for which corrective action has been taken and continues. These deficiencies resulted in insufficient accruals for certain costs and also a number of balances from 31st December 2003 that need to be written off."


The announcement was followed by the filing by numerous law firms of class action suits against the company on behalf of shareholders.

Both Auger and Nicklin report to Ian Webber as does Iain Torrens, who continues to be responsible for treasury and tax functions.

Another new position, VP Taxation, has been filled by Sarita Sood who is responsible for the group's global tax planning and compliance. Her previous experience was with auditing and financial services advisory firms PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG and more recently, senior tax positions in the pharmaceutical sector. She reports to Iain Torrens.
Tod Sizemore has joined CP Ships as VP Finance Americas & Asia based in Tampa, Florida, reporting to David Auger. Previously he was VP Finance for CHEP, a leading pallet and container pooling service firm, where he led the implementation of SAP. He succeeds Julie Harte who has assumed the new role of VP Finance Systems Implementation.

"With greater depth and breadth of leadership and the addition of resources throughout the finance organization, we have taken a major step in meeting our commitment to reinforce financial management and improve reporting controls," Webber said.

Meantime, CP Ships still continues its search for a CEO to replace Frank Halliwell, whose resignation over "differences with the board" was announced December 1. Chairman Ray Miles has assumed executive responsibility for an interim period until a new Chief Executive is appointed. The Executive Committee of CFO Webber and Executive Vice Presidents Alan Boylan, Juan Manuel Gonzalez and Glenn Hards report to Miles

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