Sahashi Alone, Teachers Still Not Paid

Nova is quickly crumbling into pieces. Hot on the heels of yesterday’s sale of the equity warrants comes news that Sahashi’s lieutenants are leaving him.

The Japan Times:

Meanwhile, three Nova auditors and the chain's longest-serving director have submitted their resignations.

The four are believed to have resigned because they were unable to get in touch with Sahashi. Their departure could have a serious impact on management and Nova's ability to disclose financial statements.

Bloomberg, very short and to the point:

Nova Corp. may fall. All three auditors at Nova, which runs a chain of language schools, resigned earlier this month, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

Four high-ranking employees of scandal-plagued NOVA Co. resigned Thursday, including an executive who had been with the English conversation school chain since its inception, company officials said.

Anders Lundqvist, who had been involved with NOVA since its foundation walked out on the beleaguered business Thursday, together with three auditors.

Reasons for the resignations were not announced, but it is believed that Lundqvist and the auditors were at odds with NOVA President Nozomu Sahashi's plans to rebuild the struggling chain, which has been plagued in recent weeks by such events as labor troubles brought on by not paying teachers and forced closure of schools because it couldn't pay rents.

NOVA plans to hold an emergency board meeting on Friday to discuss how it can move ahead

The resignations have forced Nova to hold an emergency board meeting [PDF] to discuss what action to take.

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The Chunichi Shimbun

Nova directors resign leaving Sahashi to deal with crisis on his own

With major English language school operator Nova late paying its employees and closing schools, a co-founder [Lundqvist] and three auditors have tendered their resignations. Excluding Sahashi, four of Nova’s six directors have parted with the company.

A law firm advising Nova has also canceled its contract with the company. In both cases, the key reason behind the resignations was the inability to get in contact with Sahashi, which is likely to affect the release of the midterm financial report scheduled for next month. At its peak, Nova boasted 480 thousand students, but Sahashi now has to face the predicament he is in alone.

According to an official, the three auditors all tendered their resignations at the beginning of October. The advising law firm also canceled its contract in October. The official added that Nova will have trouble operating since nobody is in contact with Sahashi and most of the accounting department gone, which leaves nobody around with an understanding of Nova's cash flow situation.

Comment:

Even the lawyers have jumped ship. What gets me is the fact that the executives quit at the beginning of October and we're only hearing about it now. That should tell you what a turd Nova's plan for improving reporting and transparency is. As for the emergency board meeting, one item that should be on the table is bankruptcy. If the remaining board members have any decency, they'll pull the plug.

Original article

ＮＯＶＡ役員相次ぎ辞任届　ワンマン社長、難局に

給与遅配や教室閉鎖の問題が続出している英会話学校大手ＮＯＶＡ（統括本部・大阪市）の監査役３人と最古参の取締役が、相次いで辞任届を出していたことが２４日、分かった。猿橋望社長を除く役員６人のうち４人が、猿橋社長と決別したことになる。

顧問をしていた弁護士事務所との契約も解除されたことが判明。いずれも猿橋社長と連絡が取れないことが大きな理由とみられ、決算の開示など経営に重大な影響が出ると予想される。最盛期は４８万人の受講生を誇ったワンマン社長は厳しい局面に立たされた。

関係者によると、常勤と非常勤の監査役３人は１０月初旬、一斉に辞任届を提出。顧問弁護士事務所も１０月に入って契約を解除した。猿橋社長と連絡が取れない上、会計実務を担当する社員の多くが辞め、出入金の流れさえ把握できず、意見表明などの職務遂行が困難と判断したとみられる。

Finally, teachers still haven't been paid. But don't worry, here's another fax. Please hold on for a moment longer. Please do your best.