PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :--
C.O. 882
26
(4) Providing an increase in the cash balance by increasing short loans by
$80,000.
(5) A decrease in amount of Sundry Debtors by $64,000, as compared with
the previous half-year.
(6) An increase in amount of Sundry Creditors of $75,000.
The dividend of $20 per share declared as on the 31st December, 1904, would require $740,000 to pay it. The cash balances on that date were apparently only $573,466.85. It remains for the accountants to ascertain whence came the $166,533.15 required to pay the shareholders. But there is evidently no need to await the coming investigations of the accountants before arriving at the conclu- sion that there are material differences between the principles which dictated the preparation of the former balance-sheets and those which guided that of the last, which it is to be remembered was both prepared and issued after the notice of Expropriation.
Assuming that proper adjustments for the matters just referred to were made possible and in respect of what there is reason to anticipate will be similar departures consequent from the former practice in the final balance-sheet (up to the 30th June, 1905), adjust- Government would then take over the undertaking in a normal condition.
ments.
to set aside
The accountants would then have to ascertain the profits in recent years. Possible There is good reason for assuming that the Company will claim what in fact will claim by amount to setting aside of their balance-sheets and the substitution of revised ones Company specially prepared for this occasion, and that they will claim to do this on the their own ground that besides the depreciations and additions to capital disclosed by the balance balance sheets, large sums have been buried in the undertaking which should have sheets. been charged to capital. This involves the further adjustment of an addition to expenditure on interest account, because if these sums had not been so applied, money would have had to be borrowed to pay for them.
It is considered that a wholesale revision of the balance-sheets will be a diffi- cult operation for the Company to carry through, and will furnish much matter for cross-examination.
Sugges
The Government Accountants will apparently have to prepare new accounts, making such allowances as they think can be admitted, but there is as yet no sign tions as to that the Company will be prepared to allow the Accountants to try and agree on office of the accounts. They are not even prepared to furnish us with a statement of gross the Gov. earnings or turnover. Such a document would not appear to be a privileged one Account- under the Ordinance. However, when the Government Accountants do arrive, ants. they will no doubt experience no difficulty in preparing such a document as one of their first results.
SEPARATION OF ACCOUNTS.
ernment
It is considered to be extremely desirable that the earnings and profits of the Separation machine shops should be worked out separate from those of the wharves. It is con- of Wharf sidered that a different number of years' purchase may be applied to these two and Dock divisions. The Company may have a practical monopoly as to the wharves; they Accounts certainly have not as to the shops, having regard to the many extensive engineering Shope and ship-repairing firms in Singapore and other adjacent ports.
from the
The stock in these shops is being valued by Mr. Trowell, the Government Marine Surveyor, and the points he is having in view are:-
Accounts.
Stock.
(a) The comparison of the stock now with that generally carried.
8 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE
BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC. COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
(b) The fairness or otherwise of the values applied to the stock.
(c) The marketable value of the stock; the necessity or otherwise of "scrap- ping" any portion of it; there may be articles which, although never used, have become obsolete, and are therefore never likely to be required.
Mr. Trowell is also examining all the machinery and floating plant, the points Machinery
being how far it has depreciated or is out of date and what will be required to bring and Plant.
it up to date, having regard to local conditions.
$2698r
G1