Even for an experienced manager like Stefan Kirsten, Wednesday should be an extraordinary day: at half past six in the morning he was appointed new chairman of the supervisory board of the real estate company Adler, at nine a.m. there was an impromptu telephone conference with business journalists, followed by the first meeting with the Adler board of directors.

A call with financial analysts is also still on the schedule and – particularly important – a meeting with the auditors KPMG.

She is otherwise responsible for the company's routine annual audit, but is also currently carrying out an explosive special examination of the balance sheets.

It is so lengthy that Adler recently changed the balance sheet date to March 31.

Mark Fehr

Editor in Business.

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The reason for the ongoing special investigation by the KPMG forensic experts are serious allegations by the short seller Fraser Perring from October 2021. He accuses Adler of balance sheet manipulation and the overvaluation of the real estate portfolio, among other things.

The company has sharply rejected the allegations, but has not yet been able to provide any concrete counter-arguments to dispel investors' doubts.

Adler's share price has roughly halved compared to the issue price of EUR 20 when it went public in 2015.

turbulent time

So Kirsten took on the position of Chief Inspector at a very turbulent time.

On Wednesday he described Adler as a difficult case, but not a hopeless one from his outside perspective.

Kirsten's place on the supervisory board had become vacant following the resignation of Adler's supervisory board member Michael Bütter in January.

Bütter's important role as Chairman of the Audit Committee has since been taken over by Thilo Schmid.

Adler had justified the resignation with regulations.

"Bütter's resignation has nothing to do with the current turbulence," said Kirsten on Wednesday in his conference call with business journalists.

Although he still has to familiarize himself with the job and was therefore unable to answer many detailed questions, Kirsten wanted to use the press conference on Wednesday to introduce himself personally.

He presented himself on this occasion as determined and optimistic.

After the price slump caused by the short seller attack, Kirsten joined Adler with a current total of 50,000 shares.

Even after Bütter's resignation, he made additional purchases.

He sees his share purchases not only as a purely financial investment but also as proof of his trust in Adler.

If you look at Kirsten's curriculum vitae, it quickly becomes clear: the man is by no means a candidate for embarrassment who would have been raised to a hopeless post for which no one else would have been found.

Because Kirsten is not only an experienced manager, but also a proven expert in the real estate industry and accounting.

As CFO of Thyssenkrupp, he was responsible for the company's accounting according to international standards (IFRS) and was CFO at the real estate company Deutsche Annington, which took over its competitor Gagfah in 2014 and became the real estate giant Vonovia in 2015, which is now listed in the Dax.

In 2018, Kirsten left his board position at Vonovia, but remained chairman of the board of a Vonovia subsidiary in the Netherlands.

At Adler, Kirsten now wants to “roll up her sleeves” and familiarize herself.

He described the recently announced balance sheet control procedure by the financial supervisory authority Bafin as a routine matter.

The reason for the proceedings was the numerous transactions from which Adler emerged.

According to Kirsten, the balance sheet controllers of the German Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel and the Bafin regularly take a closer look at such large purchases and sales - also at other companies.

The first request from the supervisory authority in this context was made in August 2021, i.e. around two months before the short seller attack.

Kirsten seems to be familiar with a few details after all.

According to Kirsten, the loss of confidence among Adler investors also has something to do with the Wirecard scandal from 2020.

"The elephant in the room is called Wirecard," said the new Chairman of the Board of Directors on Wednesday.

That should mean: Since the bankruptcy of the payment service provider Wirecard, which had previously been promoted to the Dax, shareholders are more easily startled when allegations are made against their company.

In fact, Fraser Perring, Adler's harshest critic in the Wirecard case, had the right instincts and warned investors of difficulties early on.

Kirsten will now investigate the allegations with the support of the auditors and familiarize himself with the main areas of special audit, governance and real estate valuation.

For this he also has the blessing of Adler's string puller Cevdet Caner, who congratulated him on his appointment.

Otherwise, Kirsten's last contact with Caner was six years ago.

The other questions from journalists, which the new chief inspector could not answer on Wednesday morning due to a lack of detailed knowledge, can now be put to the Adler management.