Len Barrie faces accusations of misusing funds from Bear Mountain Resort
Len Barrie, part owner of the Tampa Bay Lightening NHL hockey franchise and head of the Bear Mountain Resort, is accused of misappropriating $2.5 million from Bear Mountain Resort for his stake in the hockey team. The Globe and Mail first broke the story on September 01, reporting that a local Victoria accounting firm, Norgaard Neale and Camden, Ltd., resigned as auditor of the resort when it felt an illegal transaction was not addressed by the Bear Mountain board of directors. However, Barrie stated that KPMG was now auditor of the resort and that firm had given the same transaction a financial bill of health and thus absolving him of any wrongdoing.
In response to KPMG’s involvement after Norgaard Neale and Camden’s resignation, discussion forum member “spanky123″ stated, “[Barrie's] claim that BM has hired KPMG [and that he] has paid back the money and now everything is fine is highly questionable in my opinion. If KPMG has in fact taken on a client (and months later offered a favourable opinion) whose previous auditor resigned over allegations of illegal activites then they need to have their heads examined in my opinion. If I were KPMG I would have a letter to the editor of the G&M en route clarifying my position on this file.”
KPMG did in fact make a statement about the firms purported representation of Bear Mountain Resort. “A” News interviewed KPMG on its September 01 newscast and a representative confirmed the firm is not Bear Mountain Resort’s auditor.
Barrie released a statement on the resort’s website, claiming the original auditor’s position is the result of a misunderstanding, although there is no mention of or clarification on KPMG’s involvement as per a quote in the Globe and Mail article:
The report being referenced in a recently published article was a confidential document written in December 2008. The document is consequently nine months old, and the issues and concerns raised in the report have all been reviewed and addressed with Bear Mountain Resort’s Executive Committee and investors.
The report also contains conclusions that were drawn without steps being taken to discuss, clarify and review matters with me prior to finalizing the report, and as a result contains statements that I believe to be misleading and erroneous. [Continued...]
To follow the story as it unfolds and to read Victoria’s reaction to the news, visit the Bear Mountain Resort thread in the VibrantVictoria.ca discussion forum (the link will start on post 1,037 which is the beginning of the discussion on this issue).
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Responses to this Headline or Article
The five most recent replies to VibrantVictoria.ca's discussion forum's Bear Mountain insolvency thread, the most relevant thread to the above headline or article:
Zoe
Sep 01, 2010 at 11:25 pmQuote: Enough is Enough already
Aw, my bad. I feel compelled to try to answer when someone asks a direct question, no matter how silly. Guess I'm a glutton for punishment. I'll try to refrain. :rolleyes:
So, if Bear Mountain really doesn't need the interchange, what should we use it for? I suggested a dirt bike/motocross/skate/waterslide park. And since the Parkway is going to be re-named, why not throw down some name suggestions here? Let's get this ball rolling.
Zoe
Sep 02, 2010 at 2:58 pmThis could make it tougher to sell condos.
Bear Mountain closes real estate office effective immediately
Quote:
In a letter to staff, Cowan wrote: “Change is never easy. Change is also fundamental to the future success of Bear Mountain. The changes I share with you today represent a new beginning and an infusion of positive energy and expertise to strengthen the position of Bear Mountain in today’s competitive global market.”
While the announcement means the loss of executives Dale Sproule and Kerry Walker, Cowan did announce the addition of four new members to the resort’s executive team.
Who wants odds on the resort's long-term profitability?
Sparky
Sep 02, 2010 at 3:21 pm^ Probably a smart move. Shifting sales responsibility to a commision based sales team rather than pony up for internal overhead every month will not nessesarily make it harder to sell properties or less cost effective.
Commissioned sales people can have an eager vested interest in selling product.
LJ
Sep 02, 2010 at 8:54 pmHalf the staff in the golf operations staff were let go yesterday in a cost cutting measure.
spanky123
Sep 02, 2010 at 10:23 pmBM was losing a million dollars a month during peak season. The new CEO has no choice, he works for HSBC and their interest is getting their money back. If there is nothing left at the end of the process then that makes no difference to them.
