Britain’s Auditor Ernst and Young were hit on Thursday with a fine 4.9 million fine (6.3 million euros) for “severe violations” in their audit of the travelers Thomas Cook.
The Financial Reporting Council, UK Watchdog imposed a fine on the company, while a partner of it, Richard Wilson, who was in charge of 2017 and 2018 audit, was fined £ 105,000.
Debt-ridden Thomas Cook, who struggled against the fierce online competition for years and blamed Brexit uncertainty for a decline in booking, suddenly declared a sudden bankrupt in September 2019 after failing to secure £ 250 million from private investors.
The failure of the 178-year-old Doyen of the travel industry followed a long period of old financial upheaval, as a disastrous chain of merger left it cumbersome with growing loans, a large branch network and high costs.
Its sudden demise caused 22,000 job losses worldwide and forced the UK government to start the country’s biggest repatriation attempt since World War II, so that about 150,000 to fly to UK houses.
Many disappointed holiday manufacturers struggled to compensate.
The Watchdog said in a statement, “Both audit failed in their major objectives: to obtain proper assurance that financial details were free from physical misunderstanding.”
It was noted that “the deficiencies” “were particularly serious in the 2018 audit” Given the decline in compared to “Thomas Cook’s” expectations “.
However, the sentinel stressed that it was “not suggested that the violations were deliberately, dishonest, deliberate or careless”.
In a statement, EY said that “providing high quality audit remains our priority and we are deeply regrettable that Thomas Cook’s 2017 and 2018 audits have fallen below standards that we expect”.
The Chinese group Fosun bought Thomas Cook at £ 11 million in late 2019 and resumed it as an online travel agency the following year.
The Polish group was then resumed in 2024 for Asci.
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