Subscribe to this blog's feedNow here’s something of a poser. It appears that Ernst & Young has taken on three “senior finance and regulatory specialists” from Thames Water...
...the news came as something of a surprise to one of Disconnector’s colleagues who was, as these things happen, toiling through an Ofwat statement on systematic failings in Thames Water’s regulatory reporting as the appointments were announced.
The water company is due to be fined for its poor performance on reporting, a fine due partly to a report from Ernst & Young that was definitely less than complimentary about the procedures Thames followed.
It accused the company of “gaps in controls over completeness and accuracy” and “lack of independent review”. It seems responsibilities were not clearly defined. Internal guidance was missing, incomplete or inaccurate, the accountants told Ofwat.
Nevertheless, Ernst & Young said hiring the ex-Thames Water staff would “contribute to our UK credentials”. Hmm.
