Read Lost in Pattaya for Free Online Page A

management figures at BMI and more importantly, call for a
complete revamp of their internal audit and order fulfilment systems. It could
steep in doubt my client at BMI, the Head of Finance, who I was sure was in on
the decision to realise revenues and profits prematurely, well before they were
legitimately due.
    If I pushed, BMI would be forced to find a
scapegoat. A sacrifice that would absolve the tarnished-stature of the larger
organisational entity, before the press is briefed on the inexplicable slide in
results.
    The other option was for me to look the
other way, ignore what I had found, and simply clear the audit, which my client
would desperately seek off us. In return, we could sign a long term services
renewal with BMI, a big win since these circumstances would mean an easy
enhancement of fees and services, implying assured long-term revenues for the
audit firm, at least from the Asia operations. As regards the losses at BMI, they
would dwindle with time; some would be recovered from the bank, after
protracted contract negotiations, while others could be written down each
quarter, in small un-noticeable amounts. The people at BMI who were responsible
for this situation, some would continue at BMI, being experienced in managing
premature billings, while others would attrition naturally, finding positions
in other organisations. Even those who continued would change roles, distancing
themselves from the situation that others would be forced to face. Of course,
there would be heated calls and meetings, but, the situation could be handled
if it was made to stretch over a period of time. All our knots are eventually
undone by time, and the solutions that the future holds, no matter how cruel.
     
    * *
*
     
    When I landed in Singapore, my phone was
choc-a-full of missed calls and messages from Georgy. I ignored them, calling
instead the police in Pattaya and Singapore, who expressed futility, remorse,
and their will to do the utmost to re-unite us with our daughter. They had not
found her while I was mid-flight, these last few hours.
    “Georgy, did you hear anything. Have they
found her?” I returned his call, from the travellators of Changi airport.
    “No, they have not. I was trying to reach
you about something else; you visited the bank and I saw your assessment,” he
said.
    “What about it? And, how did you get my
mail, I did not send it to you?” I asked.
    “The HQ forwarded it to me and asked me to
speak to you. How on earth can you recommend a write down of four million
dollars, and threaten our client with an audit fail if they don’t
do so?” he was shouting into the phone, with a discernible change of tone,
indicating the perceived elevation of position that the HQ’s directions may
have indicated to him. After all, he was being asked to manage my situation,
which was almost like being asked to manage me.
    “Because, they are not going to get paid by
the Bank of Manila, so they have to reverse the sale and face the music, that
is why,” I said, surprised by the intensity with which Georgy attacked. My
voice remained calm, ignoring for the moment his assumed sense of authority
over me.
    He would have told the HQ about Li Ya and
the obvious impact she was having on my performance and judgement of business
situations. Maybe he had even promised them his solutions for situations before
hanging the phone up and jumping into the frenzy of calls and messages I
received after I landed in Singapore.
    “Listen, you know this, we get paid to
clear audits and pass business statements, not to block them. Just give them
some time and they will sort their problems out with the bank. The business is
theirs, for them to run, we are here only to support them, please, listen to
me,” he was pleading.
    “Hello, hello, you are breaking up. I will
call you once I get home, or, maybe we can talk tomorrow at work, Hello…
Hel…bye for now,” I could hear him well but I was in no state to talk business
since my mind