Olympus losses ‘not fault of E&Y’ says panel

A PANEL reviewing the auditing of Japanese firm Olympus after its $1.7 billion (£1bn) accounting scandal said it had so far not found any problems with the work carried out by Ernst & Young’s Japanese arm.

It also questioned the accuracy of a separate investigation, which was critical of Olympus’s auditors.

However, the panel, which was set up by Ernst & Young ShinNihon earlier this month, acknowledged that its powers of investigation were limited. The hurdles include an inability to question the company’s previous auditor, KPMG AZSA, which does not want to participate in the probe.

Ernst & Young launched the review in response to the criticism contained in a different report by an Olympus-appointed panel, which outlined how a handful of Olympus executives orchestrated the decades-long accounting scam.