By Mauro Orru 
 

Wirecard AG's shares rose Monday after Friday's appointment of a chief compliance officer and the company's overhaul of management responsibilities.

At 0755 GMT, Wirecard shares traded 9% higher at EUR91.73.

The German digital-payment services company appointed James H. Freis as chief compliance officer to head the newly created integrity, legal and compliance department, also creating a chief commercial officer position to run a new sales department.

"The introduction of a seasoned chief compliance officer should help to straighten internal control systems thereby setting the base to regain investor's trust," Simon Bentlage, analyst at German bank Hauck & Aufhaeuser, said.

Wirecard's share price had suffered after the publication on April 28 of KPMG's independent audit into allegations of accounting impropriety at the company after the big-four accountancy firm was unable to prove revenue from Wirecard's third-party acquiring business due to a lack of data.

Its share price tumbled more than 26% on the same day.

Wirecard said Friday that Chief Executive Markus Braun would shift his focus on the strategic development of the company, with Chief Financial Officer Alexander von Knoop responsible for capital market communications.

Mr. Bentlage said the decision seems sensible, and that capital markets communication has been one of Wirecard's weak spots.

David Vignon, analyst at European investment bank Bryan Garnier, said the "shift in responsibilities and the appointment of the chief compliance officer are positive for Wirecard overall, and could slightly ease the pressure on the stock."

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com; @MauroOrru94

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2020 04:15 ET (08:15 GMT)