The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) will focus on statements for the financial years 2015 to 2018 with the regulator examining issues related to the Horizon IT system, taking over from ICAEW which would usually investigate non listed company audits.

EY had been auditor of the Post Office for over 30 years at the time of the audits, having been appointed in 1986.

At the centre of the FRC’s investigation will the Horizon accounting system, developed by Fujitsu, which was the core issue behind the Horizon IT scandal which saw 700 people taken to court by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015.

The FRC stressed that the investigation will only look at the work of the auditors, and not the ‘broader issues’ surrounding the Horizon IT system.

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