By Victor Ernest

The new management of Arik Air has announced the appointment of  KPMG to undertake a forensic and diagnostic audit of the finances of the airline to ascertain the true state of its finances.

In a statement made available on Tuesday, the review will among other objectives cover the position of assets and liabilities and their utilisation; recording and utilisation of loans; and propriety of third party transactions.

According to THE PUNCH, the audit will also cover fraud controls over procurement, agents and business partners and financial reporting, and Arik Air’s financial position as of January 31, 2017.

The management said the report of the audit, which is expected to be delivered within 12 weeks, would also help the government to take necessary steps, either corrective or proactive, to reposition the airline.

KPMG was hired to look into the finances of Arik Air and to tooth comb, advice, and verify facts on what went wrong with the airline for the new management.

The statement also made it clear that the outcome would help the new management plug the loopholes and stabilise the airline. The whole intention was to identify what went wrong with Arik to enable the new management bring it back to full operations.