Coming to an End

"Before Mr. Richard left, he said Sega's current financial health had risen two ratings compared to when they first came in," Director Hoshino said, his tone relaxed. "The offshore accounts of several overseas branches have all been brought into the monitoring system as well.

"The early revenue recognition the Sales Department cooked up to boost performance has all been reversed and redone."

"Minister Yoshimura didn't complain again?"

"How would he dare?" Director Hoshino smiled. "After the Audit Committee was established, all major expenditures had to go through the committee. Minister Yoshimura fills out reimbursement forms more carefully than anyone now, terrified that if he can't explain some account clearly, Richard will use it as a teaching case and execute him in public at the meeting."

Nakayama Takuya closed the proposal.

"You've worked hard these past six months, Hoshino-san. This dual-track audit system was able to land smoothly in no small part thanks to your mediation in the middle."

"It's my job. However, Managing Director, a few old-timers on the board have been privately asking me whether, now that the financial cleanup is over, we're going to take the knife to the personnel structure next." Director Hoshino lowered his voice. "No one has any certainty in their hearts."

Nakayama Takuya tapped his fingers on the desktop.

"Tell them not to make blind guesses. This afternoon I'll go to the president's office for a special report and set the tone for what comes next."

This financial optimization that had tugged at Sega's internal nerves finally reached its conclusion.

From PricewaterhouseCoopers entering the field, to the dual-track audit plan taking root, and then to each department's self-inspection and self-correction.

Borrowing this outside force, Nakayama Takuya had forcibly wedged an entirely new set of evaluation standards into Sega's originally rigid operating system.

Through this