Seán FitzPatrick trial hears auditors need not view every document

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick has pleaded not guilty to 27 offences under the 1990 Companies Act.

The proceedings were reported on 13 February 2017. The trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was continuing before Judge John Aylmer.

The charges included 22 counts of making a misleading, false or deceptive statement to auditors and five counts of furnishing false information in the years 2002 to 2007. He was accused of misleading auditors about multimillion-euro loans during that period and denied all charges.

Kieran Kelly, an audit partner with EY, then called Ernst & Young, told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that companies must produce financial statements giving a true and fair view of their affairs and profit and loss.

Kelly said auditors did not need to examine every document but needed sufficient information supporting the figures and disclosures in financial statements. He said the information was generally persuasive rather than corroborative and auditors relied on explanations provided to them.

The jury saw three representation letters signed by FitzPatrick concerning the accounts for 2002, 2003 and 2004. One was dated 26 November 2002. The court heard that note 45 in the 2002 accounts recorded €12 million in loans outstanding to nine directors on 30 September 2002.

The 2002 letter said no events since the balance sheet date required revisions or an additional note, and promised notification if further material events before the AGM required such changes.

The report also said the jury had previously heard evidence that the methods used to produce Kelly’s prosecution statement were subsequently ruled “unlawful”. Lawyers for the accused said the statement was produced through coaching and “cross-contamination”.