Dubber wants its money back, and it’s ready to fight for it.
The cloud-based call recording software provider made headlines in March of last year when it suspended CEO and Managing Director Steve McGovern following the discovery that AU$26.6MN was missing from the company’s accounts.
Dubber discovered the financial discrepancy during its half-year audit, prompting the company to notify the market and issue a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange ASX.
In said statement, the firm confirmed that a preliminary investigation had revealed that funds believed to be in a term deposit may have been used elsewhere and are no longer available to the company.
McGovern was subsequently dismissed, with Matthew Bellizia taking over in September 2024.
Having secured $25 million in funding to address the financial shortfall late last year, Dubber is now looking to recoup its losses in court.
The company has launched legal action against its former auditors BDO Audit, seeking $26.6 million in damages, along with interest and legal costs.
Dubber is accusing BDO Audit of failing to properly conduct audits for FY20, FY21, and FY22, and alternatively alleges that BDO acted in a misleading and deceptive manner by neglecting its obligations.
In a statement given to ASX today, Dubber said:
It [Dubber] asserts that, but for that conduct, it would not have suffered the loss that it did as the known parties would have been unable to misappropriate the funds or otherwise the funds would have been partly or wholly recovered.
What’s Next for Dubber?
The missing millions have cast a long shadow over Dubber’s recent trajectory.
Once hailed as a trailblazer in voice intelligence, the company has spent the past 18 months scrambling to contain the fallout – replacing leadership, patching financial holes, and attempting to rebuild market confidence.
While its core technology remains in place and operational, investor sentiment has taken a hit. That much is clear from its battered share price, which still hovers well below pre-incident levels.
For a company operating in a trust-centric domain like cloud communications, reputational recovery is just as crucial as recouping the funds.
Dubber will view the lawsuit against BDO as more than a legal dispute; they will be hoping that it serves as a potential turning point.
A win in court could restore a significant portion of the missing capital and help Dubber restore its reputation. But success is far from guaranteed, and the outcome may take months, if not years, to materialize.
Until then, the company remains in damage control mode, juggling courtroom battles with the everyday demands of delivering mission-critical voice solutions to a global enterprise customer base.
