Speakers at last week’s AWB annual general meeting (AGM) were deeply unhappy at the company’s reporting process, which allowed the deep issues in Brazil, which is to be wound down at a cost of $200 million, to go undiagnosed for some time.

Stephen Mayne, shareholder activist and a failed candidate for the AWB board, said it was time for the board to come clean on exactly what had gone on in Brazil.

“We know that the business has failed, but we haven’t seen what caused these losses.”

“There appears to be no board accountability, what we have is a board carrying the taint of having lost $200 million in Brazil.”

“The directors know who did what in regards to the operation of the Brazil business, and yet nobody has gone yet.”

AWB managing director Gordon Davis said the company had reported what had happened in its annual results report.

“The decision was taken because the business model was wrong.

“There were inadequate systems in place, with AWB Brazil not reporting directly to head office, and there are certainly some lessons to be learnt from the experience.”

AWB chairman Peter Polson highlighted the fact that not all the directors on the board now were with the company when the decision to embark on the Brazil venture came up, however these statements were taken by the meeting as an attempt to apportion the blame for the failed business elsewhere.

Mr Polson also highlighted that executive staff involved with AWB Brazil had been retrenched.

However, shareholder Martin Mackay, questioned why, if AWB was focussing on accountability regarding the Brazil affair, the was board refusing to take ultimate responsibility for its actions.

Fellow shareholder John Carr said the board was not being made responsible for mistakes that had led to the poor financial performance of the company.

“Director Tony Howarth has been reappointed to the board, and he was a director at the time the decision to expand into Brazil was made.”