The government disburses money to educational institutions based on a number of indicators, such as the number of pupils or students. Accounting firm Deloitte has been appointed to initially verify that the data provided is accurate and that the money the institutions receive from the government is actually spent on education and research. This is then spot-checked again by the Education Inspectorate.
In September 2024, Deloitte launched an internal investigation after receiving a report from a whistleblower. According to the reporter, the professional rules were violated by fumbling in 2022 and 2023 files of educational institutions they inspected before they were inspected by the Education Inspectorate. Deloitte informed the FD that that whistleblower was right:
“Our internal investigation has now been completed and has confirmed that changes were made to a limited number of audit files in violation of our professional requirements prior to inspections conducted by the Ministry of OC&W,” the accounting and consulting firm wrote in a statement. ‘This is unacceptable and has led to appropriate action in the interest of society. Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has been informed of the findings.’
Although the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science announced that it was not taking the issue lightly, it does plead with Deloitte that they discovered and reported the problem themselves. Had it been discovered at a much later stage by the ministry or the education inspectorate, the consequences would probably have been much greater. This is precisely why employers should make it attractive to file reports internally first. Since the passage of the Whistleblower Protection Act, this is no longer mandatory and whistleblowers can also report directly to the authorities.
Our last newsletter featured an article about a whistleblower at KPMG. The CEO of KPMG indicated that they were very grateful to their whistleblower. Unfortunately, Deloitte has not indicated that as yet in this case. That seems like a missed opportunity to us. Could it have something to do with the fact that there is also an ongoing conflict with a former partner who filed a whistleblower report?
Want to know how to make internal reporting as attractive as possible? Then take our Whistleblower Protection Act course in practice.
