Deloitte: New York suspension
The Financial Times reports that Deloitte, which was founded in London but has headquarters in New York, was cited by New York’s Department of Financial Services over ‘misconduct, violations of law, and lack of autonomy’ during a review of anti-money laundering practices at Standard Chartered.
Independence
Ben Lawsky, superintendent of DFS, bemoaned the lack of independence and ‘I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine’ culture in the consulting industry, and warned that the regulator’s work was not finished.
Deloitte is now be obliged to identify employees at financial institutions who review and comment on work and disclose any key disagreements. DFS said that this model will applied to all independent consulting firms, and may even act as a template for other regulators.
Deloitte said it ‘looks forward to working constructively with DFS to establish best practices and procedures that are ultimately intended to become the industry standard for all independent consulting engagements under DFS’s supervision’.
