Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis
Nexus Phase
Mr. Michael Walsh:
Thank you. I think, first of all, there were concerns about the internal audit, you know, going way back, which is why all of the non-executive directors actually participated in the audit committee. There was a letter, which is part of the books there, I think, on 9 December 2004, which actually specifically raises questions in relation to internal audit and actually requires that the society actually outsource the internal audit. What did the society do when it got that letter? Obviously, it reviewed it - reviewed it with the board, reviewed it with the executive, also reviewed it with KPMG. Based on the work that the society did with KPMG in 2005, the society actually developed a risk metrics, audit risk programme and also a, shall we say, decision matrix in terms of what work would be done internally and what work would actually be outsourced. I think the concern, you know, with Dr. O'Reilly in 2004 initially was that he was concerned that the individual that the society decided to appoint as the internal auditor didn't have enough background or experience, despite that fact that, I think, he had worked with PwC or Craigs or whatever it was in those days for about six years.
No comments