Oman national dairy products: The rise and fall of a well-known company from the Arabian Gulf

Oman National Dairy Products (ONDP) was a 30-year old publicly traded company in Oman that produced and marketed dairy and juice products. During the three decades of its existence, the company had developed several popular brands such as Zain, Funnan and Tamam which gained substantial market share in Oman. These products were also exported to regional GCC and other international markets successfully. Despite all these apparent signs of success, in 2006 the board of directors realized that something was wrong with the company when they faced cash flow problem. The company's operations were suspended and an investigation revealed that the former general manager was instrumental in deliberately installing irregularities in computerized accounting systems to misappropriate funds. Millions of dollars disappeared from the company's account. The company was struggling to restart the operations and sought support from the Government and banks. A few days after operations resumed in May 2007, the devastating Cyclone 'Gonu' hit Oman and flood water and mud inundated their factory. The case illustrates the issues of corporate governance and the roles of the board of directors as well as highlights how the company is coping with these unfortunate situations to restart their business.