A-Power Energy Let's CFO Go
Ok, finally we have the fire behind the smoke. This morning
a press release about the termination of the CFO at A-Power Energy (APWR) - now the first reaction when I see the CFO leaving is abject fright since it usually means a litany of bad news to come. This might still be the case here, BUT on the surface it appears to be a conflict of interest situation. Here is the official press release
- A-Power Energy Generation Systems, Ltd. (Nasdaq: APWR - News; "A-Power"), announced today that its Audit Committee has completed an internal review that confirmed assertions made by NASDAQ relating to the omission of certain biographical information of Edward Meng that had not been disclosed in various filings prior to July 2008, and which was corrected in the Company's 20-F filing on July 11, 2008. The assertions were prompted by a NASDAQ notification to the company of a letter written to NASDAQ from Mr. Meng's former employer. The letter stated that Mr. Meng had breached that company's Code of Conduct by being employed by that company on a full-time basis while at the same time being employed by A-Power as its part time CFO. After difficult deliberations and multiple consultations with NASDAQ, the Board of Directors of A-Power determined that terminating Mr. Meng's employment was the appropriate response and that it will take effect immediately.
- John Lin, A-Power's Corporate Secretary, Chief Strategy Officer and member of the Board of Directors has been appointed Interim CFO while the search for a successor is underway.ts part time CFO. After difficult deliberations and multiple consultations with NASDAQ, the Board of Directors of A-Power determined that terminating Mr. Meng's employment was the appropriate response and that it will take effect immediately.
- According to Jinxiang Lu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, "Our internal audit determined that while Mr. Meng's other position did not present a competitive concern nor did it have any effect on his performance as our CFO, his complete biographical information should have been disclosed. Although the omissions may have occurred inadvertently, we believe that our decision is the appropriate course of action."
- Mr. Jinxiang Lu further stated, "The Company reached the decision very reluctantly. Edward has been an important, capable and reliable member of our management team. He has played a critical role in the transition of A-Power to a US public company, in the growth of our core distributed generation business, and in the startup of our wind turbine production business. We certainly wish Edward well in his future endeavors.
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