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FINANCE MINISTER Michael Noonan has revealed that staff at the former Anglo Irish Bank cannot identify the exact personnel responsible for auditing the bank in the financial year to September 2008.
Noonan said he had been informed that the bank – now rebranded as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation – “is not in a position to positively identify all the principal persons” at auditing firm Ernst & Young “who were responsible for the conduct of the audit.”
Replying to Dáil questions from Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty, Noonan said the bank had told him it was “actively investigating all legacy issues with a view to taking appropriate action to resolve such issues”.
“Due to the sensitive nature of those issues, it would be inappropriate for the bank to comment further on the subject matter of the question at this time,” he said.
Anglo’s accounts for the 2008 financial year indicated an after-tax profit of €664 million – but were not published until February 2009, when the taxpayer had already injected €1.5 billion into the bank in exchange for a 75 per cent stake.
Statements attached to the accounts by auditors Ernst & Young certified that the bank’s financial statements gave “a true and fair view… of the state of affairs of the parent group as at 30 September 2008″.
Current NAMA chairman Frank Daly – who was appointed to Anglo’s board as a ‘public interest director’ in December 2008 when the bank was nationalised – was the chairman of the bank’s audit committee at the time the accounts were released.
Doherty told TheJournal.ie it was “astonishing” that the auditors could not be individually identified for work “they were handsomely paid to do”.
“We all know now what the culture was within the finance sector then and while it’s not fast enough, there has been some change in the banks. There are even, finally, some people being held to account, although in a very limited way,” Doherty said.
Not so in the auditing firms. These firms are still in practice and presumably, the people who oversaw the audits, are still with them.How is the public supposed to move on, believing that there is now transparency and honesty in the financial services, when not all those involved in bringing the sector into disrepute have been held to account, or more, forced to change their practices?
The Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board announced a year ago that it would undertake disciplinary hearings against Ernst & Young over apparent failings in the 2008 Anglo accounts.
Those failings included the auditors’ failure to detect the scale of Anglo’s loans to then-chairman Seán FitzPatrick, then-director Willie McAteer, and to Irish Life & Permanent – the latter being as part of a ‘warehousing’ arrangement designed to cast each institution’s balance sheet in a better light.
The CARB hearings have been adjourned, however, following a request from the Director of Public Prosecutions – who had expressed concern that a public hearing into any auditing shortcomings could prejudice a later criminal prosecution.
A spokeswoman for Ernst & Young said it would be inappropriate for her to comment on the circumstances of the Anglo audit while the CARB investigation was continuing.
“Apart from the ongoing CARB process itself, the firm is concerned to avoid saying anything which could prejudice the ongoing criminal investigations by the [Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement] and the Garda Síochána into possible ‘withholding of information from the auditors’,” the spokeswoman added.
Both the Department of Finance and IBRC itself declined to offer further comment.
These individuals are not fit to be guests on the Jerry Springer Show let alone hold the presidency of a country!
They could be Jeremy Kyle material though…
You’d think the first thing he would be doing is filing a law suit against the article.
He probably is
If he doesn’t sue = guilty. Trump did his homework. Clinton is in for some abuse.
“Guilty” implies that it is illegal to cheat on your spouse. It is not.
I hate this aspect to politics in some countries, mainly in the English speaking world. Unless you plan on marrying Ted Cruz, who cares if he cheats constantly on his wife or not? If you’re considering him as a potential political leader rather than a potential future spouse, surely it’s his policies rather than his fidelity with which you should be concerned. When Hollande’s extramarital dalliances were released in the French media, the French public rounded on the publications immediately, and insisted their president’s personal life should remain private – the yanks, and often ourselves, could learn a lot from that attitude.
Great entertainment, these lads.
Com’on Ted….don’t do the Facebook thingy, sue Trump…isn’t that the American thing to do when they make false accusations.
How would he sue Trump for something printed in the National Enquirer?
If Cruz wants to become president he should probably do what most intelligent people do and ignore whatever his name is
Any wonder more and more people are becoming disillusioned with politics.
Trump trumps the competition!
Brilliant.
Why couldn’t we have an election like that instead of the boring shite we got? People can slag Trump off but the difference between him and other politicians is that he’s telling the truth and they don’t like that.
Donald Trump speakes the truth? Hey generalises whole population’s to further his own agenda. He has countless failed businesses he mocks people with disabilities he counts on ignorance for support. If that’s the truth you are seeking you will die a happy man I’m sure
I have absolutely no idea what your argument is.
Point proven I think
Argument should be Trump does not tell the truth. In fact he will take any position if he thinks it will get him votes. He is very talented at playing to the media and at speaking to people who are disillusioned with the American political system but happy not to look past the sound bite. He plays on people’s fears and exacerbates their prejudices. Blame Muslims, blame Mexicans, blame Democrates, Obamas to blame. Easier to blame others and allude to a simple solution that will make their lives easier. Scary that people are thick enough to drink the Kool aid.
Maybe it’s because he actually listens to the disaffected American people and isn’t one of these leftie liberals who just tell people what to do. Latino immigrants are taking American jobs. You can’t say that. It’s racist. Mexicans are drug pushers. More racism. Muslims are shielding terrorists. That’s bigotry. Russia is the enemy of the free world. Please don’t make Putin angry. It’s this liberal rubbish that has put IS terrorists and foreign criminals in the heart of all our major European cities. Trump is someone who listens to the Americans who are saying enough is enough and his policies are going to take him all the way to the White House.
What an odd world view you have.
He’s right, Trump is going to win. I look forward to an American president that won’t use a politicians filter. He touches on subjects that most would never dare. That has to be a good thing.
“Mexicans are Drug pushers. That’s racism” – yes that statement could not possibly fit the definition of racist more perfectly. I don’t disagree though that there are issues to be dealt with – illegal immigration, terrorism etc but lets say for a second that Trump believes what he’s saying and implements his policies- build a wall to eliminate the Mexican drug pushers and rapists. Walls have worked well in Israel and Germany in the past and obviously there are no rapists or drug dealers amongst the non Latino races.. – ban Muslims from America. Hmmm what if the nasty terrorists were smart enough to lie about their religious beliefs not to mention the effect even suggesting this as a legitimate tact has on the majority of the worlds Muslims who are non radical!! – bomb the sh*t out of Isis. We’ll just wait for the stateless organisations leaders to all get together so we know where to send the jets will we?
You don’t disagree there are problems to be dealt with. You just don’t have the balls to actually tackle them because it might offend people. You and the rest of the liberals. It’s no surprise that right wing parties are becoming more powerful across the Western World. Politics has become polarised. You either stand up for yourself or bend over and take it.
Well the far-right do love dragging us all into a good war every couple of decades.
Socialism is about looking out for one another, Capitalism is about becoming a fat cat at the expense of your fellow citizens. Materialism is huge at the minute, and everywhere you look people seem to be plugged into devices. I wonder what kind of species are we becoming. We will suck this planet for everything it’s worth before we move on, but maybe that’s the plan. As long as we pass on the right message.
Materialism and bling has always been huge, people have always been saps.
Love this site, pretty good at wading through the key points. Basically Trump isn’t telling the truth 3/4 of the time http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/
“Latino immigrants are taking American jobs”
Were those jobs in the farmers fields picking crops in Alabama that the locals couldn’t do? (Notice that I didn’t type wouldn’t)
Were those jobs in the abattoirs where the locals were demonstrating & the place ended up being raided ? Well those very same demonstrators ended up getting offered the jobs ? They didn’t last pi$$ing time .. True story.
“Illegal immigrants pay an estimated $10.6 billion to state and local taxes in 2010, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)..On average they pay about 6.4% of their income in state and local taxes..”
“Undocumented immigrants contribute more in payroll taxes than they will ever consume in public benefits.”
Trump himself uses the HB1 visa that he wants to “get rid of ” but just last month, one of his companies, the elite Mar-a-Lago Club resort in Florida, applied to import 70 foreign workers to serve as cooks, wait staff and cleaners.There was a few hundred local AMERICANS (those jobs that he wants to protect ) that applied for the jobs but were turned down ..
Trump is a hypocrite of the highest order..
Can’t stump the trump
Doesn’t this umpa lumpa have some chocolate to make? .
I’ve been watching the betting lads and for months hilary is the clear favorite to become the next president! She has always been about 1/3 and Trump waivers about 3/1 to 7/2 and over the years bookies rarely get it wrong… Good fun though watching those two goof balls..
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Stay classy America stay classy
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