Pricewaterhouse Coopers Co. To Audit NTV Television

The U.S.-based company Pricewaterhouse Coopers, one of the world's largest auditors, will be auditing Russia's NTV television broadcaster in May and June. In May, it will carry out an audit to meet Russian requirements and in June, it will conduct a full checkup in accordance with international standards. The planned inquiry into NTV's financial health has been announced in a statement of the company's Director General, Boris Jordan. Circulated in Washington D.C. and New York City, the statement points out that the forthcoming audit is expected to reinvigorate the company financially and to improve the quality of its management. In Western practice, a detailed and open financial audit of a company usually precedes, as a prerequisite, any negotiations with investors over the purchase of a stake in that particular company. After the Pricewaterhouse Coopers audit, NTV will get a system of comprehensive financial control, with the use of detailed financial excerpts and of documents on money transfer. The company will settle all of its debts and pay all back wages, Jordan assures. In his statement, the NTV chief says that to be able to measure up to the best standards of journalism, NTV will soon have a special conciliatory body set up, to bring together established experts with varying specialization.