Downer’s chairman has stepped down from the contractor, following its finance boss out the door after top investors demanded heads roll following an admission of errors in the group’s accounts and a steep fall in profit.
The contractor says Michael Ferguson will leave the company, two days after its stock plummeted 24 per cent and investors demanded meetings with the board.
Executives with strong risk management and cost-cutting skills as well as excellent communication are being sought after as the Australian economy slows down, making businesses and staff trickier to manage.
The company’s half-year earnings, which have been pushed back, will get more scrutiny than usual as investors demand explanations for an ‘accounting irregularity’.