20 key questions RTE STILL can’t answer

1 Why were none of its contracts with barter agencies signed? 2 Why was the decision to use barter agencies only discussed verbally?

The Mazars report states: ‘We have obtained no evidence to suggest that this decision was considered on the basis of a prepared business case, that risks were assessed, or that financial projections were presented.’

Why were most approvals for purchases by means of barter accounts verbal?

The report states: ‘A formal approval process for barter purchases did not exist, with most approvals occurring verbally.’ Why were there no financial controls ‘such as purchase approval thresholds, competitive quotations, and any restrictions in respect of the class and nature of expenditure’?

Why did former RTÉ director general Dee Forbes – who knew about and had access to barter account spending – never include the barter account balances in her annual management representation letters to auditors?

The report states: ‘Each of the representation letters provided… included a statement that all transactions had been recorded in the accounting records and were reflected in the financial statements.’

Who decided not to cash out the barter account annually – and why?

The report states: ‘[This] would have placed the available amounts within RTÉ’s bank account, would have removed the possibility of maintaining off-balance-sheet balances… and would have ensured that any resulting spend from these amounts were subject to normal budgetary and purchasing controls.’

Why were auditors not briefed about the barter account by the commercial division in annual pre-audit discussions?

The report states: ‘An opportunity existed during the scoping of these audits… for the Head of Internal Audit to be briefed on the existence and nature of the barter account… but this did not happen.’

Why were barter account purchase invoices kept in a hard copy folder instead of electronically? When and how was this hard copy file lost? 10 Why is there a €39,000 difference between barter agency records and RTÉ accounts?

The report states: ‘We have identified a difference of €39,000

between advertising sales recorded in statements received from barter media agencies when compared to RTÉ’s financial accounting ledgers, which at the time of reporting, RTÉ could not fully explain or resolve.’

11 There were many barter account transactions that the review could not validate. Who ordered these transactions and why?

The Mazars report was ‘unable to validate barter purchases of €284,000 to independent supporting invoices/receipts, and were unable to confirm booking form approvals for €110,000 of barter purchases’.

12 How could RTÉ have stated, year after year, that it was compliant with financial compliance codes for State bodies?

The report states: ‘We do not concur with RTÉ’s annual assertions of full compliance with the State Code.’

13 Who was responsible for deceptively describing former Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy’s payments as ‘consultancy fees’?

The report states: ‘We were unable to determine the person responsible.’

14 Why did RTÉ pay €480 for a chauffeur to drive a Noel Kelly-represented staff member to a Renault event in Dundalk, Co. Louth?

The report states: ‘It was not clear why RTÉ paid for this expense.’

15 Why is there no formal record of approval for the party of six who travelled to the Rugby World Cup in Japan? The flight and hotel invoices for this trip are also missing.

The report states: ‘RTÉ could not locate the invoices.’

16 RTÉ bought 7O tickets for the Japan World Cup at a cost of €30,000. lnly those tickets used by the commercial director for her six-party trip to Japan are accounted for. What happened to the rest?

The report states: ‘RTÉ did not maintain evidence of how these tickets were distributed or used and we could not obtain any further confirmation during interviews.’

17 Why are invoices for

€17,000 of hotel expenditure at the Madrid Champions League Final missing?

The report states: ‘RTÉ could not locate the invoice for the hotel expenditure.’

18 Why are invoices for a €7,000 trip to attend a soccer match in Gibraltar missing?

The report states: ‘RTÉ could not locate the invoice for the flights and we were not provided with documented evidence of the approval of these items.’

19 Why is there no record of many ‘contra deals’ concluded by RTÉ between O017 and O019?

The report states: ‘RTÉ did not record the income and expenditure relating to other contras for the period 2017 to 2019.’

20 Why is RTÉ unable to provide an explanation for the ‘basis of approval’ of foreign trips to Japan, Madrid and Gibraltar?

The report states: ‘The basis of approval of these purchases was not clear, due to these events being expensive in nature.’