Steinheist

Rose, editor of South Africa's Financial Mail, wrote the account of Steinhoff International, the retailer that lost most of its value in December 2017 when its auditors refused to sign the accounts and the chief executive resigned.

The scheme Rose describes involved a network of entities nominally independent of Steinhoff but in practice controlled by people connected to it, particularly through European intermediaries. Steinhoff recorded transactions with these entities that generated profits and assets on its own accounts, including the sale of intangible assets and brand rights at inflated values, and the recognition of income from contributions that were funded circularly. The group's rapid acquisition programme, including Conforama, Mattress Firm and Poundland, made the accounts complex enough that consolidated figures were difficult for outsiders to interrogate.

Rose documents the warnings that were ignored: German prosecutors had been investigating since 2015, a short seller had published detailed questions, and journalists including Rose had raised the related-party structures. South African institutional investors, including the public pension manager, held large positions and did not act.

He also covers the personalities, particularly Markus Jooste and the Stellenbosch business network, and the wider question of how a company that grew this fast attracted so little scrutiny in its home market.

The book was written soon after the collapse and before the PwC investigation report and the subsequent legal proceedings concluded, so details have been added since. It is written for a South African readership and assumes some familiarity with that market. The account of how off-balance-sheet related entities were used to manufacture profits is clear and generalisable.