Auditors at Deloitte failed to spot bonus payments
Deloitte misses £100k bonus error at Alliance Trust
Investment fund Alliance Trust is to investigate the failure of auditors at Deloitte to spot bonus payments to two former executives which had been recorded as some £100,000 higher than they should have been, with the error only noticed by a shareholder
At the Alliance Trust AGM last week in Dundee, an investor pointed out that the amount listed as paid in bonuses to former chief executive Katherine Garrett-Cox and ex-finance director Alan Trotter under its long-term incentive plan had been overstated by around £100,000.
Alliance chairman Lord Smith of Kelvin said that the trust had paid out 32.5% of the maximum, based on performance, but ‘on investigation we agreed the vesting should be lower at 27%.’
It is understood that no cash has been handed over in error but the amounts will need to be clarified in the 2016 full year accounts.
Alliance Trust is to conduct a review of what happened. The mistake follows another error three years ago, which also resulted in overpayments to directors, when the long-term incentive plan was stated as being worth 53.1%, when it was actually worth 51.7%.
Smith said: ‘It is not life-threatening to the company, but it shouldn’t happen. To think there is something of an overpayment of £100,000 is not something that investors want to hear. We take it very seriously.’
Deloitte has not made a comment on the issue.
Source: CCH Daily
