BT bosses have moved to assure shareholders that the telecoms giant has taken swift action following its costly Italian accounting scandal earlier this year.
Chairman Mike Rake opened the company's AGM today by acknowledging that BT's achievements over the last financial year had been "overshadowed by the financial misconduct and collusive fraud" uncovered in Italy.
This resulted in a £530m write-down while it also wiped £8 billion off its stock market value in January.
"This has been a very difficult year for BT - we've had to deal with a number of issues, some within and some outside our direct control," the chairman said.
"These have had an impact on our short-term performance and on our share price and we very much regret the impact they have had on your profitability," he stated.
"I hope that as a result of the update today you will feel reassured that we've taken all the steps necessary to address these issues and learn from them and to ensure we prevent them in the future," he added.
Mike Rake stressed that given the "seriousness of these issues, firm action has been taken", including the immediate suspension of the previous Italian management, who have left the business and are being investigated by Italian authorities, and an independent investigation conducted by KPMG".
"We also completed detailed balance sheet reviews in seven other selected countries to ensure that we were not exposed in any other part of BT to the issues that we uncovered in Italy, and to ensure they would not occur again in the future," Mr Rake said.
Chief executive Gavin Patterson and outgoing finance boss Tony Chanmugam were stripped of their annual bonuses as a result - a move Mike Rake said was "proportionate".
The group revealed annual profits plunged 19% to £2.3 billion earlier this year, compounded by a £342m Ofcom fine and related compensation payments.
Despite attempts to soothe investor concerns, shareholders continued to raise the issue of trust in corporate governance.
One shareholder said there were "a number of flawed areas" in the company, but highlighted a "lack of confidence" in BT's ability to resolve cases like the "Italian job".
The shareholder asked the board to "clearly state and clarify why nobody has taken responsibility for these issues".
That investor also raised concerns that none of the independent board members had issued their own statements outlining their views on how the Italian fraud case should have been dealt with and prevented.
Mike Rake responded that there had been "extensive discussions" and the board was "absolutely unanimous" in its views around the case and BT's response.
But he said he was "happy" for any director to add their view or "speak up on this".
