Training was the downfall of numerous employees of an international auditing firm. They wanted to learn too much at once.
Why were the people dismissed? The global auditing company Ernst & Young internally reserves a week each year for continuing education called EY Ignite Learning Week
. During this week, employees of the company headquartered in the UK must achieve a set score through attended trainings. These take place online in the form of webinars that are broadcast live and cannot be made up at a later time.
A not-specified double-digit number of employees, however, behaved incorrectly in the eyes of their employer. They did not attend one session, but instead participated in two seminars simultaneously via web browser. Ernst & Young responded to internal audits with termination of employment.
Reports on the case summarize, among others, Fortune or CBSNews. The Financial Times originally brought the story to light and spoke with both the company and those dismissed.
Clever multitasking or fraudulent negligence?
What does Ernst & Young accuse the dismissed of? The company accuses them of violating the code of conduct and US teaching guidelines. Furthermore, they express themselves to the Financial Times as follows:
Our core values of integrity and ethics are at the forefront of everything we do.
For all upcoming training weeks, Ernst & Young has explicitly adjusted the internal guidelines. In the future, only one session may be attended at a time.
What do the dismissed say? According to the Financial Times, the interviewees confirm that they watched several sessions at once. However, they had no ulterior motives, such as wanting to shorten their work time, as points can be accumulated more quickly this way.
Instead, they claimed to behave exemplary by following the mantra of multitasking that is supposedly upheld at Ernst & Young. Furthermore, they stated that the course material was of interest to them in all cases and they did not want to miss any of the sessions running in parallel.
Problems in the past at Ernst & Young
Does the incident have a backstory? We do not know all internal processes, but an event from 2022 sheds light on proven offenses by employees. At that time, several auditors at Ernst & Young cheated during an audit in order to renew a government license. The company had to pay a fine of around 92 million euros, as explained in more detail by Fortune.
The industry in which the company operates requires a high level of trust from the state in the corporation and its employees. It involves billions in revenue each year and a multitude of tax regulations that must be adhered to in America, Europe, and beyond.
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