{"id":1284,"date":"2026-09-17T15:10:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T06:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/minnanounion.info\/?p=1284"},"modified":"2026-09-17T15:10:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T06:10:51","slug":"%e3%80%90%e3%83%a9%e3%82%b9%e3%83%88%e3%83%af%e3%83%b3%e3%83%9e%e3%82%a4%e3%83%ab%e5%8a%b4%e5%83%8d%e7%b5%84%e5%90%88%e3%80%91%e3%80%8c%e3%83%95%e3%82%a7%e3%82%a4%e3%82%b9%e7%9b%a3%e6%9f%bb%e6%b3%95","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minnanounion.info\/en\/archives\/1284","title":{"rendered":"[Last One Mile Labor Union] \"Shunsuke Nakagawa of Faith Audit Corporation is covering it up\" - Executives and employees whistleblow on Makoto Watanabe's remarks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audit independence questioned after rotation from EY ShinNihon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Internal information has been submitted by executives and employees of Last One Mile Inc. that fundamentally calls into question the independence of its accounting auditor, Faith Audit Corporation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to internal information, after being pointed out by Faith Audit Corporation regarding suspected accounting irregularities and invoice alterations surrounding HOTEL STUDIO Co., Ltd., Makoto Watanabe repeatedly told Last Mile's management executives to the following effect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"No matter what the audit firm points out, my financial interests are aligned with Nakagawa at the top, and I can control him at will, so it'll be fine.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is not simply a matter of \"building a good relationship with the audit firm.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the audit firm, which should audit the company's accounting practices and confront management if there is any fraud, the representative of the audited company is explaining that \"we have a grip on the top\" and \"even if it is pointed out, we can suppress it.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, according to internal information, after receiving multiple warnings from the audit firm regarding past illegal transactions at HOTEL STUDIO, executives allegedly instructed related parties to coordinate their stories in order to conceal the alteration of invoices during the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information has also been received that Faith Audit Corporation, despite once recognizing the accounting fraud and demanding disclosure and an apology via IR, the company still did not make a disclosure and is attempting to obtain only the audit opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did the auditing firm that pointed out the issue fall silent halfway through? Did the management ignore the auditing firm's points? Did they use their relationship with the managing partner to crush the issues raised by the on-site audit team?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of the answer, it is an issue that directly impacts the last-mile financial reporting and the audit quality of Faith Audit Corporation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason for the auditor change from EY ShinNihon to Faith Audit Corporation was \"fees and business scale.\"<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Change of accounting auditor announced by Last One Mile Co., Ltd. on October 25, 2023<\/a>According to the report, the company changed its accounting auditor from Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC to Faith Audit Corporation as of November 28, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company explains that while it evaluates EY ShinNihon as having \"sufficient systems in place to ensure that accounting audits are conducted appropriately and properly,\" it examined audit responses suited to the scale of its business and the reasonableness of the audit fees because audit fees are on an upward trend and are expected to continue increasing in the next fiscal year and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it states that, after comprehensively considering new perspectives, agile audits, expertise, independence, audit quality control systems, implementation structures, and audit fees, Faith Audit Corporation was determined to be the most suitable candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, the stated reason for the change in the official explanation is not that there were issues with EY ShinNihon's audit quality. Rather, the explanation is that they switched from EY ShinNihon, which has sufficient resources, to Faith Audit Corporation due to audit fees and business scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Registration information of the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants<\/a>Faith Audit Corporation was established in December 2020, its representative is Mr. Shunsuke Nakagawa, and as of August 2026, it is reported to have three listed companies subject to audit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The size of an audit firm alone does not determine the superiority or inferiority of audit quality. However, if, after switching from a major audit firm to a newly established, small-scale audit firm, the Representative Director explained to executives that \"their interests are aligned with the top management and they can easily keep them under control,\" then the \"independence\" and \"audit quality control system\" cited at the time of the audit firm change must be re-examined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason it is called a \"significant downgrade\" is not because of the scale, but because of the management's statements.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Within Lastmile, some view the switch from EY ShinNihon to Faith Audit Corporation as a \"significant downgrade of the audit firm.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the core of the issue is not the size or reputation of the audit firm. It is the fact that Makoto Watanabe explained to the executives that the audit firm was not an independent monitor, but rather \"someone who can be silenced if you take control of the top.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even at a large audit firm, if they collude with management, the audit will not function. Even at a small audit firm, if they maintain independence and professional skepticism, they can stop fraud at a listed company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, what should be questioned is not only whether the company \"cheapened\" its audit firm, but also whether things like the following have occurred after the change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n