UK EY investigated over post office audits tied to Horizon scandal
Listen to article
The UK's Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched an investigation into Big Four accounting firm EY over its audits of the Post Office during the height of the Horizon IT scandal between March 2015 and March 2018.
The probe will focus on whether EY complied with auditing standards, specifically in relation to the now-discredited Horizon computer system, developed by Fujitsu, which led to the wrongful conviction of hundreds of sub-postmasters.
"The FRC has commenced an investigation into EY's audits of Post Office Limited for the financial years ended March 2015 to March 2018," the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday.
EY said it would cooperate fully with the investigation and added that it takes its auditing responsibilities 'extremely seriously.'
The Post Office declined to comment.
The Horizon system became central to what has been described as the UK's worst miscarriage of justice, with over 900 sub-postmasters accused of fraud and theft based on faulty system data.
Many were prosecuted directly by the Post Office.
The FRC said its investigation will not examine issues raised during recent public hearings, which did not specifically cover EY's audits.
However, the regulator will look into the role of statutory auditors in the context of financial reporting and potential risks flagged during their reviews.
In evidence heard last year, EY had reportedly warned the Post Office's then-chair Alice Perkins as early as 2011 that Horizon posed 'a real risk' and questioned whether the system 'captures data accurately'. That warning was not escalated internally, the inquiry was told.
The latest development comes as campaigners Lee Castleton, Seema Misra, and Chris Head, who were among those wrongfully accused, were awarded OBEs at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
26-05-2025
- Business Recorder
Foreign investment into Europe falls to nine-year low: survey
BERLIN: Foreign direct investment into Europe fell for the second consecutive year in 2024, reaching its lowest level in the last nine years, a survey by professional services group EY found. FDI into Europe fell by 5% last year, with Germany seeing a 17% drop in projects due to ongoing economic and political instability, although it saw a 35% increase in the number of jobs. Companies surveyed cited a sluggish economy, persistently high energy prices and the geopolitical environment as the top three risks impacting their investment decisions. The number of projects announced by US investors in Europe declined by 11% compared with 2023 and by 24% compared with 2022, due to improving economic conditions in the US, which competes with Europe for investment. Meanwhile, investment trends in Europe highlight a growing shift towards intra-European capital flows. The survey showed that since 2015 the share of investments originating from within Europe has increased by 5 percentage points. 'Over 60% of our investment comes from Europe for Europe,' EY EMEIA Area Managing Partner Julie Teigland told Reuters, noting that US FDI represents only 18%. 'Europe's got to get its skates on and do its homework,' Teigland said. 'That means less focus on regulation, more focus on increasing competitiveness.' US tariffs make an immediate rebound of FDI into Europe unlikely. Some 37% of investors surveyed in early 2025 have postponed, cancelled or scaled back their European investment plans. Nevertheless, 61% of executives surveyed believe that Europe's attractiveness will improve over the next three years. Although this figure represents a decline of 14 percentage points compared with last year's survey, it remains high and is in line with levels seen in 2021 and 2022, prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 'If Europeans know that they invest in Europe and it's going to produce good returns, this should be seen as an opportunity,' Teigland said. Spain, now the fourth-largest country for FDI in Europe, posted a 15% increase in 2024 compared with 2023, and together with Italy shows the growing competitiveness of Southern Europe. In the EY survey, France topped the foreign investment list even though its tally of investment projects fell by 14% and job creation dropped by 27% compared with 2023 due to a protracted period of political uncertainty. Britain, in second position, saw a 13% decline in FDI projects in 2024, impacted by low productivity and some of the highest energy prices in Europe.
Express Tribune
19-04-2025
- Express Tribune
Loitering lethal
Listen to article Abandoned weapons in Afghanistan are now threatening peace and security across the horizon. Credible reports and recent incidents, such as the Jaffar Express abduction near Quetta, have come to confirm the fear that lethal weapons once used by US forces are now at large, and have mostly fallen in the hands of non-state actors and crime barons. It is estimated that more than a million pieces of weaponry and sophisticated military hardware went unaccounted for as the Biden administration decamped the war-weary Southwest Asian state in haste. And a BBC report claims that around half of them have been lost, sold or smuggled to militant groups. The Afghan Taliban are on record telling a UN conference in Doha that most of the weapons have gone missing, giving credence to independent claims that the same were sold in black market by gangsters through social media outreach. If so, this is an extreme security failure and is in need of being checked through exercises of damage control. It is also a given that terrorism has increased manifold in the region since August 2021, and the dispensation in Kabul has not been able to check rogue elements on its soil. The regrouping of ISSK, Al Qaeda, TTP, BLA, Majeed Brigade, etc and their nefarious operations on both sides of the divide have a connection with access to heavy weapons. Likewise, the sneaking out of these weapons to the Middle East, especially to the Houthis and the disgruntled elements in Syria and Iraq cannot be ruled out either. This is where Washington should have come up with proactive measures by pooling synergies of the regional states in checkmating terror outfits. A mere admission from President Trump that he will reclaim lost weapons to the tune of $85 billion in Afghanistan is not enough and must be backed up with a choreographed strategy. Afghanistan today is tantamount to a powder-keg, and the loitering lethal cannot be left in this state of inertia. It threatens more than a billion people in the region, and widespread revulsion in the Middle East and beyond. These instruments of death and destruction must be accounted for now.
Express Tribune
16-04-2025
- Express Tribune
UK EY investigated over post office audits tied to Horizon scandal
Listen to article The UK's Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched an investigation into Big Four accounting firm EY over its audits of the Post Office during the height of the Horizon IT scandal between March 2015 and March 2018. The probe will focus on whether EY complied with auditing standards, specifically in relation to the now-discredited Horizon computer system, developed by Fujitsu, which led to the wrongful conviction of hundreds of sub-postmasters. "The FRC has commenced an investigation into EY's audits of Post Office Limited for the financial years ended March 2015 to March 2018," the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday. EY said it would cooperate fully with the investigation and added that it takes its auditing responsibilities 'extremely seriously.' The Post Office declined to comment. The Horizon system became central to what has been described as the UK's worst miscarriage of justice, with over 900 sub-postmasters accused of fraud and theft based on faulty system data. Many were prosecuted directly by the Post Office. The FRC said its investigation will not examine issues raised during recent public hearings, which did not specifically cover EY's audits. However, the regulator will look into the role of statutory auditors in the context of financial reporting and potential risks flagged during their reviews. In evidence heard last year, EY had reportedly warned the Post Office's then-chair Alice Perkins as early as 2011 that Horizon posed 'a real risk' and questioned whether the system 'captures data accurately'. That warning was not escalated internally, the inquiry was told. The latest development comes as campaigners Lee Castleton, Seema Misra, and Chris Head, who were among those wrongfully accused, were awarded OBEs at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
