Woes continue for Goals Soccer Centres which has confirmed it expects its 2018 full year results to be ‘materially below expectations’, as it warns the publication of its annual figures could be delayed.
The troubled East Kilbride firm, which has appointed forensic accountants to investigate policies and practices, said that as a result of its investigation into historic accounting treatments it might not be in a position to complete its full year 2018 audit by the deadline of 30 June.
In a statement today it explained it is continuing to work with its auditors to complete the audit for financial year ended 2018 and to assess historical accounting errors and policies.
It has also confirmed that following extensive forecasting work on the financial year ending 31 December 2019, in which a number of new accounting policies, corrected accounting treatments and revised VAT assumptions have been adopted, it expects those 12 months also to be materially below prior expectations and historically reported financial performance.
Due to the nature of the historical accounting errors uncovered, the board has appointed forensic accountants, alongside its auditors, to investigate and report on historic accounting policies and practices used by the company in the recognition of revenue and the preparation of financial statements.
In March, Goals announced it had entered into discussions with HMRC regarding a potential misdeclaration of VAT. It said it remains in active dialogue with HMRC to establish a timetable for resolving this and to establish a final value.
While the board said it is mindful that it may not be in a position to complete its full year 2018 audit by the 30 June deadline as set out in the AIM Rules and Companies Act 2006, it added that it is endeavouring to complete this process as soon as possible. It will make a further announcement as soon as it is in a position to do so.
Trading in the shares of the company remains suspended, and the board does not expect it to resume until it has clarity on the financial position of the company, specifically any potential liability associated with the misdeclaration of VAT, and the audit of the 2018 financial results is completed and published.
Discussions with its lenders are continuing, and it said these remain positive as it seeks to ensure that the company is appropriately funded going forward.
The board also said that trading since 26 March 2019 has continued to be strong in both the UK and US, over the comparable period in 2018.
Goals will make further announcements in due course as the results of the investigation become known.
