The Court of Audit takes tough action against Wien Energie. Trigger: the ongoing financial crisis. After the report, a grave-digging vote arises in the board of directors. Also because the cemeteries are represented there.
Wien Energie is on the verge of bankruptcy, it was said in August 2022. Thanks to the city’s own rescue package, things were not too bad, but the energy company got into big trouble because of the sureties on the stock exchanges. The report of the Court of Audit was published on Friday – with sharp criticism. One can read about “systemic weaknesses in management”. And further:
- “There were also shortcomings in the organization and interaction between Wien Energie and Wiener Stadtwerke: the municipal utilities provided financing for the stock exchange trading without demanding alternatives or setting limits on Wien Energie’s management.”
- “The liquidity requirements were only announced two days before the expiration date.”
- “Despite the deteriorating market situation from spring 2022 onwards, Wien Energie’s management has not developed any alternatives to reduce the liquidity risk of stock exchange trading and to spread the risk more broadly.” of electricity, gas and heat are at risk.
- “Wien Energie’s risk management did not include liquidity risk among the ‘top 5 risks’ in the reports, although it continued to increase from autumn 2021 onwards and eventually reached a dimension that threatened the company’s survival.”
Biggest criticism of the board of directors
The supervisory board is probably the most heavily criticized, because it “did not fully exercise its supervisory function”. What depends on the expertise of those involved, the Court of Audit notes. Literally: “The city of Vienna and the Wiener Stadtwerke must pay attention to a professionally balanced composition of the supervisory board of Wien Energie.” And probably less to the competence of the director of the Vienna cemeteries. According to the report, the appointment was based less on the knowledge of the members of the supervisory board and more on “institutional proximity to the city of Vienna”.
There was no speculation
“At that time, in an unprecedented situation, we acted to the best of our knowledge and belief in the interest of security of supply,” says Wien Energie. “The Court of Auditors clearly and unequivocally denies the main accusation: there was no speculation at Wien Energie.” This is stated in the report.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
