I recently asked GTU about their audits, as there are no details on website or annual report, and I am increasingly twitchy about checking these things out to my satisfaction.
The reply did not answer my secific questions, a fair amount of the reply was irrelevant.........I think it would be to GTU's benefit to post when the last audit was, the personnel involved, and the serial numbers and details of each bar once a year.
No confirmation of any of this has been supplied to me by GTU , therefore I suppose I am expected to accept that everything is fine, which I hope it is. I've had no reply to my further, I think quite reasonable, enquiry.
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Thank you for your email and interest in Central GoldTrust.
The Declaration of Trust requires that at least 90% of the assets of Central GoldTrust (“GoldTrust”) be held in physical gold bullion at all times. This cannot be changed without the approval of the Unitholders.
GoldTrust’s physical gold holdings may not be loaned, pledged, subjected to options or otherwise encumbered in any way.
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Gold bullion is stored on an allocated and segregated basis in the underground treasury vaults of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (the “Bank”), one of the largest banks in Canada.
The Bank may not release any of GoldTrust’s physical bullion holdings without receipt of an authorizing resolution of the Board of Trustees of GoldTrust.
Bullion holdings and Bank vault security are inspected annually and spot inspected periodically by Trustees and/or Officers of GoldTrust. On each occasion, inspections are required to be performed in the presence of both GoldTrust’s external auditors and Bank personnel.
I have attached our annual report for your review. Details of gold bullion holdings are found under note 3 (page 7) to the financial statements and the Auditors report on page 12, 13.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Sincerely, ######Investor Services
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Thanks ####,
‘Bullion holdings and Bank vault security are inspected annually and spot inspected periodically by Trustees and/or Officers of GoldTrust. On each occasion, inspections are required to be performed in the presence of both GoldTrust’s external auditors and Bank personnel.’
That is re-assuring, however I can’t find any specific reference to this, or specific confirmation of it, on the gold-trust website, or in the annual report. From the annual report:
‘Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.’ [no specific reference to a physical audit of the gold]
This doesn’t confirm to me in plain English specifically that the Auditors completed a personal audit of the bullion, only that they are reasonably assured of effective internal control over financial reporting.
I would find it more re-assuring were Gold-trust and its auditors to declare jointly that the bullion has been audited, on a specific date, and that this is then reported in the annual reports and website. That might be more re-assuring than a comment in an email that this is the case, which is all I have in detail at the present to confirm it.
With all due respect, and many thanks
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