103. The dominant personality in Carillion's finance department was Richard Adam. He was in charge for most of the last decade, and received a final pay package of £1.1 million in December 2016.334 Andrew Dougal said Mr Adam "exercised tight control over the entire finance function, had extensive influence through the Group" and "was defensive in relation to some challenges in board meetings".335 His approach to negotiating with the pension Trustee similarly suggested someone who exerted control and refused to compromise. It is impossible to imagine that any significant accounting policy decisions were made without his prior approval.
104. Mr Adam got out at the right time. He told us that he could do no more than speculate as to what went wrong with the company, as in his view he had left it in December 2016 in a healthy state.336 Despite that assessment, he was quick to offload all the shares he had acquired over his years in the business. He sold his entire holding on the day the rosy 2016 accounts were published, and then his 2014 long term performance award shares on the day they vested in May 2017. He told us he does not hold shares because of the risks involved.337 In total, he sold shares worth a total of £776,000 between March and May 2017, at an average price of 212p.338 The share price fell to 57p by mid-July.
105. Richard Adam, as Finance Director between 2007 and 2016, was the architect of Carillion's aggressive accounting policies. He, more than anyone else, would have been aware of the unsustainability of the company's approach. His voluntary departure at the end of 2016 was, for him, perfectly timed. He then sold all his Carillion shares for £776,000 just before the wheels began very publicly coming off and their value plummeted. These were the actions of a man who knew exactly where the company was heading once it was no longer propped up by his accounting tricks.
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334 Carillion plc, Annual Report and Accounts 2016, p 66
335 Letter from Andrew Dougal to the Chairs, 5 April 2018
336 Letter from Richard Adam to the Chairs, 20 February 2018
337 Q467 [Richard Adam]
338 Letter from Richard Adam to the Chairs, 20 February 2018