Risk factors
Atlantic Tele-Network (ATN), the parent company of GT&T, has told the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it continues to worry about several risk factors that could affect its operations in Guyana. The likely loss of its monopoly in the Guyana wireline market and the financial irregularities uncovered in 2012 in its GT&T operations weigh heavily on its mind as could be gleaned from the 2013 annual report submitted to the US regulatory body. The latter concern might also be linked to efforts of avoiding accusations of breaching Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which requires US companies to evaluate and report on the effectiveness of their internal controls. The US-based company, whose principal corporate offices are in Beverley, Massa-chusetts, provides wireline and wireless telecommunications services in several markets, including Guyana where material weaknesses in the internal control of its GT&T operations is an ongoing concern.
Risk management is an important part of a company’s due diligence and responsibility to shareholders, and it must provide an assessment of the risks which it faces and the actions that were taken to deal with the threats. With its line of business, ATN faces risks from industry competition, political and social factors,