EY has agreed to pay $4 million to settle auditor independence charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which found two instances where the firm provided lobbying services to public company audit clients.
The SEC says the Washington Council EY unit of the Big 4 audit firm provided “legislative advisory services” to two of EY’s audit clients before 2009 in violation of independence rules. Without naming the clients, the SEC says WCEY sent letters to congressional offices urging passage of bills that were important to one audit client’s business. For another client, the lobbying group sent letters urging withdrawal of support for legislation that was detrimental to the client’s business. WCEY also worked with legislative staff to draft and mark up alternative legislation that would have been more favorable.
