Serba Dinamik Bhd’s standoff with market regulators and two major accounting firms over its delayed financial statements is becoming a joke. But it is definitely not funny.

To recap, the problem surfaced after its long-time external auditor KPMG highlighted discrepancies involving transactions worth some RM4.54 billion in the company's FY 2020 accounts to independent directors in May.

On the directive of Bursa Malaysia, the frontline regulator, Serba Dinamik appointed Ernst & Young Consulting Sdn Bhd (EY Consulting) to do a review of the work done by KPMG, which Serba Dinamik disputed, alleging that the audit firm had blown things out of proportion.

The company then sprang a surprise by filing a suit against KPMG, which then had to resign as the external auditor.

In the meantime, the shares of Serba Dinamik have plunged substantially, as institutional investors like Employee Provident Fund and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) showed how they felt.

The market – the minority shareholders of Serba Dinamik, its bankers, the investing public and its bondholders – has been hoping that the review done by EY Consulting will shed light on whether KPMG or the oil & gas construction firm is right.

Instead, Serba Dinamik has also challenged the review done by EY Consulting and defied the directive of Bursa to make the findings public. The company said its independent directors (newly appointed after the previous ones resigned amidst the problem) did not agree that there was anything material to release.

It went one step further by also suing EY Consulting and Bursa to stop any disclosure of the review done by EY Consulting to anyone.

All these legal actions are nothing more than moves to distract from the core issue and delay the necessary action that has to be taken.

We say this to Serba Dinamik: If the information contained in the EY Consulting review is not “material”, meaning it is not significant, why don’t you just release them to prove that you are right and that KPMG, EY Consulting and Bursa are wrong? Wouldn’t it be very satisfying to show that you have nothing to hide?

To Bursa, we say this: If Serba Dinamik refuses to release the information, the exchange should lift the suspension in the trading of Serba Dinamik shares and warrants to let the market be the judge of what it thinks about this fiasco.

Don’t be held to ransom. You are the regulator.