IGTL Chapter 42

Chapter 42 – A Content-Certified Letter Arrived, and Amazing Corporation’s President Flew Into a Rage (2)

“Sato. Tell Ishida what you just told me.”

“…Yes. Director Ishida, I just heard this from President Nishiki, but is it true that—starting with my subordinate Takahashi—you dismissed three people out of the six members of the Accounting Department?”

So that was it…

President Nishiki was such a piece of work. The administrative divisions had too many people to begin with. He was the one who’d told me to cut the excess staff so we could bump up executive compensation, and yet he’d deliberately avoided mentioning that, forcing me to say it out loud myself…

“Yes. Takahashi had repeatedly shown problematic behavior, so he was dismissed for cause. As for Yamamoto and Kobayashi, they stated they wanted to resign for personal reasons, so we let them go.”

Even if he was an internal employee, I wasn’t about to admit we’d fired them unilaterally. One careless word and I’d get my throat slit in my sleep.

“T-Takahashi did? Th-That can’t be… I mean, fine, Takahashi aside—but the other two also said they wanted to quit?”

“Yes, exactly. If they said they wanted to resign, what else were we supposed to do?”

Right. And it was also President Nishiki’s intention.

But when I said that, Sato, the head of Accounting, said something insane.

“I see… Then we’ll have to postpone the financial results announcement.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

I had no idea how firing half the accounting staff somehow led to postponing the results announcement.

“Ishida. You tell him. Ask him what kind of nonsense he thinks he’s spouting.”

“The president’s right. Director Sato, what are you even saying? Three accounting staff leaving—why would that lead to postponing the financial results announcement?”

When I pressed him, Director Sato let out a long sigh.

“…Because I’ve told you over and over again, haven’t I? The core system we’re using is outdated, and we were barely keeping things running with six people! I circulated request forms and approval memos, didn’t I? How much overtime do you think Accounting has been doing? If you’re the head of Administration, you should understand exactly how serious this is!”

“President Nishiki, what is he talking about?”

“Honestly, I don’t really get it either. He suddenly showed up today and kept repeating, ‘What were you thinking, firing three accounting staff?’ So I figured you could listen too.”

It was true that listed companies had to report their financial results four times a year, and they were obligated to disclose material management information in a timely manner.

“You two… Do you still not understand what you’ve done?”

“Then explain why it means we have to postpone the announcement!”

“I just did! The core system is old, and we were only barely keeping work moving! During the closing month, we’ve had staff who had to stay overnight at the office! We were already running on fumes with six—what do you expect us to do with only three?!”

Both sides got emotional, and nothing moved forward. And then President Nishiki snapped back at him.

“Then all you have to do is work the amount of three people. What’s wrong with removing employees I, as management, have decided we don’t need? Are you criticizing my decision?”

With sales flat, the only way to increase executive compensation without shrinking profits was to cut excess staff. Administration was already running on three people. That was exactly why I’d advised the president to bring Accounting down to the same headcount, but…

“Yes, that’s right! We’re already drowning in overtime and giving up our days off, and you’re forcing even more work on us just because we’re managers! We’re already at the limit—how could we possibly do the work of three people?! Are you trying to kill me from overwork?! If you’re going to say that, then you do the work of three accounting staff yourself!”

“What did you say?! You’re saying my judgment was wrong?!”

“Yes, I am! For the past few days, I haven’t been able to reach those three, so I came to ask directly… What have you done?!”

Badmouthing President Nishiki to his face… Director Sato was something else.

I couldn’t do that in a million years.

“…This is the first time I’ve ever been insulted like this! Listen up! I don’t need some Accounting Director who doesn’t know the first thing about management telling me what I can and can’t do! You just do what I tell you!”

“Then what are we supposed to do?! At this rate, we won’t have enough time—we’ll have no choice but to postpone the announcement! Even if we ask the Financial Services Agency for an extension, that’s just a stopgap! What are you going to do?! A delayed submission of the securities report puts us in violation of delisting criteria!”

“That’s your job to figure out! Don’t say something so idiotic! Ishida, don’t just sit there—say something to this stubborn fool!”

The president said that, but Director Sato’s argument sounded more correct to me.

That said, if I didn’t back the president here, I’d be driven out of the position I’d finally clawed my way into.

“The president is absolutely right. Director Sato! What in the world are you saying?! Fixing that is the Accounting Director’s responsibility! If you can’t even do the work of three accounting staff, what kind of Accounting Director are you?!”

“B-But…”

When I said that, Director Sato’s momentum dulled slightly. Maybe cornering him with both the president and me was working.

Well, it was the president and I who’d pushed them toward “voluntary resignations,” but I wasn’t going to bring that up. I’d go on the offensive.

“By the way, your former subordinates Yamamoto and Kobayashi said this company only cuts their pay and never properly evaluates them. Why didn’t you evaluate them appropriately? Assessing the employees who work under you is your duty!”

“I did evaluate them. I gave them ratings every day. But with nonstop overtime and the staffing shortage never being resolved, there was nothing else I could do… Even when I rated them S-rank again and again, it never got reflected in their salaries!”

Sure, the one dropping that evaluation from S-rank to D-rank had been me and the president, but I wasn’t going to mention that. It was all part of the president’s “management judgment” to avoid unnecessary expenses. Once you raised wages, it wasn’t easy to lower them…

And if we couldn’t raise executive compensation, we couldn’t improve my standing with him, either.

“Then you should’ve improved their treatment in other ways!”

“Indeed. Ishida is right. Talented personnel should receive compensation worthy of their value… That’s only natural. And as I recall, Director Sato, I don’t remember you ever reporting to me about revising the treatment of your accounting staff. If I’d heard it, I would’ve ordered an immediate review.”

“N-No, but I—”

“But my ass! Thanks to you mistreating your accounting staff, we’re now in the biggest crisis this company has ever seen! What are you going to do if we get delisted?!”

When I raised my voice, President Nishiki stepped in to “mediate.” Self-produced theater and blame-shifting, in its purest form.

“Now, now, Ishida has a point. Still, I can’t say we’re completely without fault either. Let’s all calm down… The point is, if the accounting staff come back, the problem’s solved, right? Then have the ones who quit come back, and have them work for the time being.”

“The president is correct. We can’t rehire them as full-time employees, but we’re prepared to bring them back as contract employees.”

When I said that, Director Sato fell silent in thought.

“No. With the current situation where I can’t even reach them by phone, that won’t work.”

When Director Sato muttered that, President Nishiki’s face twisted in displeasure.

“What’s that? After we’re gracious enough to bring them back, they’re unhappy with contract status?”

“Yes. Even if I did get through to them, unless we rehire them as full-time employees, evaluate them properly, and add at least two more people to Accounting, we’ll just end up right back where we started…”

I had to admit, he wasn’t wrong. Not many people would willingly return to a company with low pay and barely any days off.

“But if we did that, our profits would drop.”

Exactly. We’d “streamlined” the administrative divisions in order to increase President Nishiki’s executive compensation. If we did that, there would’ve been no point in cutting staff in the first place.

Worse, it could even mean cutting executive compensation.

“Now, now. If you talk to them, they might come back. And it’s already late—let’s continue this tomorrow.”

“Yeah… Sounds good. Still, I’m hungry. Ishida, can you get us a reservation at Sichuan Hanten right now?”

“Yes. I thought you’d say that, so I already made one.”

It was 6:30 p.m. now. I’d gone thirty minutes past the cutoff, but it should’ve been fine.

Just then, Tanaka—my subordinate whose desk was near the president’s office—entered with a “Excuse me,” and whispered to me, “Just like you said, Director, I canceled it,” before leaving the president’s office as if nothing had happened.

What a completely useless subordinate.

“President Nishiki, it seems my subordinate canceled the reservation I made for you without permission… I’m terribly sorry. I’ll call again and rebook—”

“…Yeah. Do that. I’m in the mood for Sichuan Hanten today. And you two can go.”

After leaving the president’s office with Director Sato, I called Sichuan Hanten again.

“Hello, this is Ishida from Amazing Corporation. I’d like a reservation for two starting now. Yes, you had that spacious private room in the back, right? Could you book that room for us… Huh? It’s already taken? No, that’s a problem. Can’t you do something? …Huh? You can do after 9 p.m.? Please hold on a moment.”

I put the phone down and went back into the president’s office.

“President, they say they can take us at 9 p.m. How would you like to proceed?”

On the off chance, I asked anyway—only to get screamed at: “Like hell I’m waiting until that hour!”

In the end, every one of the president’s favorite restaurants was fully booked that night, and President Nishiki went home with a stormy, furious expression.