Earthquake as Entire Juve Board of Directors Resigns: Even President Agnelli Leaves!

 

Earthquake as Entire Juve Board of Directors Resigns: Even President Agnelli Leaves!

By Olu

sola Hammed

Sensational in Turin: following the disputes by Consob on capital gains, the entire Juventus management leaves the club. The number 1 leaves after 12 years at the helm of the company

Earthquake at Juventus, after the afternoon's rumors came the official announcement of the en bloc resignation of the entire Juventus board of directors. From the president Andrea Agnelli to his deputy Pavel Nedved, the managing director Maurizio Arrivabene and the other members of the board, all have resigned their mandate.

Reasons for resignation

Italian newspaper, Corriere Dello Sport  report s that the causes are to be found in the latest disputes by Consob on capital gains, but they originate from the Prisma investigation, conducted by the Turin prosecutor's office, with the accusation of false accounting. President Agnelli abandons the leadership of the club more than 12 years after taking office in May 2010.

The official press release from Juventus

"Turin, 28 November 2022 – The Board of Directors of Juventus Football Club S.p.A. (the “Company” or “Juventus”), which met today under the chairmanship of Andrea Agnelli, obtained new legal and accounting opinions from the independent experts appointed for the of the critical issues highlighted by Consob pursuant to Article 154-ter TUF on the Company's financial statements as at 30 June 2021, it once again examined the objections of the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Turin, the deficiencies and critical issues identified by Consob and the findings raised by Deloitte & Touche S.p.A., the independent auditors of Juventus.

With reference to the critical issues relating to the so-called "salary maneuvers" carried out in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 financial years, the Board of Directors noted that these are complex profiles relating to evaluation elements susceptible to different interpretations regarding the applicable accounting treatment and has carefully considered the possible alternative treatments. As a result of these overall analyzes and assessments, although the accounting treatment adopted falls within those permitted by the applicable accounting standards, the Company, for a more prudential approach, has: - first of all, decided to revise upwards the estimate of the probability of the conditions permanence in the squad for those players who in the two-year period 2019/20-2020/21 renounced part of their salaries and with whom salary supplements or "loyalty bonuses" were subsequently concluded (respectively, in July/August 2020 for the first so-called " salary maneuver" and in September 2021 for the second so-called "salary maneuver"); - on the basis of the aforementioned possibility of adopting legitimate alternative accounting methodologies, assessed to start the accrual pro-rata temporis of the charges for the July/August 2020 wage supplements (for the first so-called "salary maneuver") and the so-called "loyalty bonus" of September 2021 (for the second so-called "salary maneuver") starting from the most remote starting date of a so-called "constructive obligations" hypothesized by the independent experts (and so, respectively, from June 2020 and May 2021).

These revisions of estimates and assumptions therefore result in adjustments to the estimates of charges pertaining to the end of June 2020, the end of June 2021 and the end of June 2022 due to the salary subsidies signed in July/August 2020 and the "loyalty bonuses" signed in September 2021, providing for accrual pro-rata temporis, according to the so-called "straight line approach" (which is one of the approaches allowed by the accounting standards), with effect from June 2020 and May 2021, respectively; the effects of these adjustments are essentially nil on cash flows and net financial debt, both for previous years and for the one just ended and for future years, and are not material on shareholders' equity as at June 30, 2022.

The accounting effects of the above will be reflected in a new draft financial statements and in a new consolidated financial statements at 30 June 2022 which will be examined and approved at a forthcoming board meeting, disclosed to the market in accordance with the law and subject to Shareholders' Meeting already called for 27 December 2022. The Board of Directors therefore approved, unanimously, the press release containing the considerations on the financial statements as at 30 June 2022 requested by Consob pursuant to art. 114, paragraph 5, of the TUF, available on the system for disseminating regulated information "1Info" (www.1info.it) and on the Company's website (www.juventus.com), in the "Investors" section.

The directors have also requested the Company's internal functions, with particular regard to the activity of the Sport Area, to conclude the analyzes and proceed with the implementation as soon as possible of the already started process of further implementation and improvement of the procedures and of internal controls in order to contribute to the process of strengthening accounting practices aimed at measuring and accounting for the Company's assets and operations.