Ernst & Young face charges

THE Public Accountants and Auditors Board has decided to charge auditing firm Ernst & Young Namibia, and a former partner at the firm, for alleged misconduct originating from high-profile forensic investigations it conducted. After lengthy investigations, the PAAB found that the auditing firm and Hans Hashagen, who was the Ernst & Young partner responsible for forensic audits and investigations, have a case to answer.The investigations were triggered by complaints from former Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) boss Rainer Ritter, and former Namibia Training Authority boss Maria Nangolo-Rukoro. Both axed chief executives challenged the legality and validity of Ernst & Young's investigations into their conduct because the results were used to fire them.