An American financial investor has made serious, unjust accusations against the Geneva-based banking software company, as an investigation report published on Monday shows.
The allegations brought against Temenos were false and misleading. This is the conclusion of the Special Committee's report to review the claims, which was released on Monday. In mid-February of this year, the American financial investor known as a short seller, Hindenburg Research, made serious accusations regarding the accounting behavior of Temenos. Subsequently, the stock price of the Geneva banking software specialist plunged significantly, as reported by finews.ch. Among other things, the fintech was accused of «serious irregularities» in its accounting.
Swiss law firm involved
In response, Temenos had the accusations investigated by a special committee, which included the Swiss law firm Schellenberg Wittmer and the American firm Sullivan & Cromwell. Forensic accountants from Alvarez & Marsal, a US firm specializing in forensic auditing, were also involved. The special committee concluded that Hindenburg Research made «false and misleading accusations» about Temenos and its accounting, products, and customer relationships, and presented «purported facts about Temenos in a distorted manner or out of context.»
Over 300,000 documents reviewed
According to a statement from the banking software developer, the examiners had unrestricted access to company leaders, employees, documents, communications, and all relevant records. Over 300,000 documents were reviewed, and interviews were conducted with 17 current and former employees, including senior management. According to the company, over 150 lawyers and forensic accountants were deployed.
Growth of 13 percent
Thibault de Tersant, chairman of Temenos, was pleased with the report and stated: «This clearly underlines the board's view that Temenos runs a solid business, offers first-class products, and has robust financial controls and strong governance oversight.»
In 2023, Temenos achieved a revenue of 1,000 million dollar and an EBIT of 313 million dollar. This represents a growth of 13 percent. The board is proposing an annual dividend for 2023 of 1.20 Swiss francs per share – an increase of 9 percent.
