Friday 02 November 2012
The Public Accounts Committee has announced Ernst & Young as the independent expert reviewer to produce a report for the first stage of its review of the States of Guernsey's changes to financial controls in response to fraud.
The Committee has commissioned the local practice of Ernst & Young. A maximum budget of £25,000 has been set aside.
The Committee published the terms of reference for its review in September when it announced it would be commissioning independent expert reviewers to produce a report in line with its terms of reference. The Committee has decided that its review will take a staged approach and, in particular, the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the specific incident of fraud will not progress until completion of the police investigation.
Deputy Heidi Soulsby, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said:
"Ernst & Young will carry out a review looking at the appropriateness of the States of Guernsey's anti-fraud governance framework before and after the specific incident of fraud committed against the States, which was reported in July 2012.
"Ernst & Young possess the requisite skills and experience to undertake this first stage of the Public Accounts Committee's wider review. This section of the review will provide an overview of the extent to which the States of Guernsey is vulnerable to fraud and to determine the appropriateness of the States of Guernsey's actions in responding to fraud risk further to the incident reported in July 2012."
The fieldwork for this stage of the review will be completed by December 2012 and the Committee will receive a findings and recommendations report by January 2013.
Deputy Soulsby said:
"Ernst & Young will be commencing work immediately on the review. The Committee will continue to provide updates to the public and States Members when appropriate. However, it does not wish to pre-empt the findings of the report and will not be providing separate comment on issues covered by the review's Terms of Reference".
The Ernst & Young report will identify areas that require further research and investigation. As part of the further review process due to take place once the Committee has considered the findings of the Ernst & Young report, the Committee intends to conduct hearings with the appropriate States Departments, and publish its findings and recommendations, including publication of the Ernst & Young report.
