Air Water Inc.
Notice Regarding Publication of Investigation Report by Special Investigation Committee
Air Water Inc. announced that a special investigation committee investigated a wide range of inappropriate accounting practices within its group companies, revealing a cumulative overstatement of approximately 24 billion yen in revenue over past years. Multiple executives including top management were involved, and vulnerabilities in internal controls were identified. Fundamental recurrence prevention measures are currently being formulated.
Key Figures
- Cumulative Impact on Revenue: 24,066 million yen
- Cumulative Impact on Operating Income: 5,867 million yen
- Past Period Correction Amount (Revenue): ▲66.7 billion yen
- Past Period Correction Amount (Operating Income): ▲33.2 billion yen
- Number of Group Companies: 261 (As of the end of March 2025)
AI要約
Overview of Investigation Results
In July 2025, inappropriate accounting treatments related to inventory were discovered at consolidated subsidiary Japan Helium, leading to the establishment of a special investigation committee in October of the same year. The investigation confirmed inappropriate accounting practices at Japan Helium as well as Ecorokka, AWMX, the Plant Gas Division of Air Water Inc., and AW Disaster Prevention, among others. These included inventory overstatements, premature revenue recognition, avoidance of allowance provisioning, and profit manipulation through cost transfers, resulting in cumulative impacts of approximately 24 billion yen in revenue and about 5.9 billion yen in operating income. Multiple executives including top management were involved, and there was severe dysfunction in internal controls.
Cause Analysis and Recurrence Prevention Measures
The background of the inappropriate accounting practices included excessive performance targets, undue pressure from top management, concentration of power at the top, deficiencies in management systems, invalidation of internal controls, and corporate culture issues. Supervisory and auditing functions of the Board of Directors and the Audit & Supervisory Board were inadequate, and insufficient awareness of the internal whistleblower system as well as dysfunction of internal audits were also pointed out. Recurrence prevention measures include corporate culture reform, governance enhancements, restructuring of management foundations, and portfolio review, with a strong emphasis on leadership from top management and organization-wide commitment to compliance.
