EY Receives €500k Fine in Wirecard Audit Case

A major European regulator has imposed a substantial fine on EY, the global audit firm, in connection with the Wirecard affair. The regulator’s decision, amounting to 500,000 euros, follows a long period of review into the auditing practices surrounding Wirecard AG, a financial services company that collapsed into bankruptcy in 2020 after revelations about its financial reporting. The report from Bloomberg News confirms that this penalty targets the German arm of EY in relation to its duties during the decade that Wirecard remained a client. The case highlights the scrutiny facing audit providers when signs of potential misreporting emerge and raises questions about the adequacy of procedures used to verify large balance sheet items in the years leading up to a companys insolvency.