Equitable takes legal advice over E&Y

Equitable takes legal advice over E&Y

Embattled life insurer Equitable Life has appointed City law firm Herbert Smith to sue its former advisers and executives, including ex-auditors Ernst & Young.

The law firm has been asked to see if the insurer could take legal action against those involved in the crisis over guaranteed annuity rates, and has the former auditor firmly in its sights.

Herbert Smith will also investigate the role played by the Financial Services Authority, the Department of Trade & Industry and Equitable’s former executives who resigned over the crisis.

The move came after the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee slammed the auditing arrangements at Equitable.

Ernst & Young quit as auditor last month, saying that it did so ‘in order to help its client move forward’.

Equitable confirmed the move saying a number of member groups had pushed for the insurer to take action.

Equitable’s spokesman said: ‘If there was any realistic chance of redress from any third party then we would pursue them.’

A spokesman for Ernst & Young said: ‘We do not believe there are any grounds for a legal claim and continue to believe the accounts were prepared properly.’

Links

Treasury committee slams Equitable audit.

Select committee slams Equitable audit

E&Y to quit as Equitable Life auditor

PwC picks up Equitable Life audit

E&Y spared grilling over Equitable collapse.

Equitable hunts for new finance chief

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource