Corporate Travel Management has announced that as part of an ongoing accounting review by KPMG, the company has uncovered accounting errors totaling £77.6 million ($105 million USD) in overcharges to a “small number” of UK-based customers. The majority of errors, worth up to £58.2 million, date back to CTM’s 2023 and 2024 financial year accounts, with an additional £19.4 million identified in the current year FY2025 earnings.
As part of the fallout from the audit, the company announced UK and Europe chief executive Michael Healy has been temporarily suspended with pay. Global chief operating officer Eleanor Noonan will take over as interim CEO for CTM UK and Europe.
Separately, discrepancies of some A$13.9 million were discovered across the 2022-24 period in the Australia-New Zealand market, primarily due to “an unexpected credit loss provision on receivables,” according to CTM. However, the company maintains those issues are not related to the problems in the UK and Europe, and so far, CTM’s North American operations are unaffected.
In a statement to Business Travel Executive, Anita Salvatore, CEO of CTM North America, said, “As part of finalizing our FY25 accounts, Corporate Travel Management proactively engaged KPMG to review historical financial statements for our UK operations. The matters identified relate to a small number of concluded UK contracts and do not affect our US or global operations,” Salvatore said. “CTM remains financially strong and fully focused on delivering reliable service to all North American clients.”
In a statement, the company said it has met with its UK-based customers and is undertaking a comprehensive review of financial processes in its UK group. Furthermore, it will also undertake an external governance review to determine how the problems were missed and why they were not resolved.
“We recognize the impact this situation has had on our shareholders and affected UK clients, and we unreservedly apologize,” CTM managing director Jamie Pherous said in a statement. “Our priority is to uphold the highest standards across our operations, work closely with our auditors to finalize the FY25 financial statements, and implement all necessary measures to strengthen the company.”
CTM has received an extension for filing its FY25 financial statements until Dec. 31. However, as work continues on the company’s processes, it is doubtful the company can finalize and release 2025 year-end results by the deadline, and CTM has requested a further extension from regulators.
