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Examination of the books and records of account of RTÉ (Mazars)
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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At the Government Meeting on 4 July, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, informed her Government colleagues that she had intended to invoke Section 109(7)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 2009 to appoint a person to examine the books or other records of account of RTÉ.
Following the Government Decision, on 12 July, the Minister appointed Mazars under Section 109(7)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 2009 to examine of the RTÉ barter account and identify of any other off-balance sheet accounts in RTÉ.
On 25 August 2023, the Minister published an interim report furnished by Mazars on the operation of the barter account, which sets out a factual overview of the accounting practices, financial processes, and related records in respect of RTÉ’s management of the barter account.
On 4 October 2023, the Minister announced, on foot of a request from the Expert Advisory Committee on Governance and Culture in RTÉ, that she had approved an expansion in the terms of reference of the examination of books and other records of accounts being undertaken by Mazars.
On 7 May 2024 the Minister published the final report furnished by Mazars.
The Report can be found here
Pursuant to section 109(7)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 2009 (as amended), as of 12 July 2023 Mazars have been appointed by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to examine the books and other records of account of RTÉ. Under section 109(7)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 2009, RTÉ, the Director General and any relevant member of staff is required to facilitate any such examination by Mazars.
The terms of reference of the examination are as follows:
(a) to identify all off-balance sheet accounts currently held by RTÉ or held during the period 2017 to 2022;
(b) to identify and examine all transactions made through the barter account and any other off-balance sheet account identified by Mazars for the period 2017 to 2022;
(c) to identify whether transactions made through the barter account or any other off-balance sheet accounts which have been identified in the period under examination were correctly identified and recorded in the audited financial statements of RTÉ presented to the Minister under section 109(4) of the Broadcasting Act 2009;
(d) in examining the transactions, to consider all relevant available documentation and to meet with relevant persons, as appropriate;
(e) to furnish interim reports to the Department as required;
(f) to furnish a final report to the Department; and,
(g) these terms of reference may be amended by the Department from time to time, including to expand the scope or duration of the examination; and,
(h) to review RTÉ’s process in relation to the establishment of, and decision to trade through, the barter account in 2012 (including in particular at Executive and Board Level), including but not limited to:
• the provision and approval of a business case for the decision to trade through the barter account, including the rationale for and risk assessment of the decision and the financial analysis and projections which underpinned the business case;
• the governance arrangements proposed and approved for the operation of the barter account; and,
• the accounting treatment proposed to record all income and expenditure, sources of such income and subject matter of each expenditure, and the property, assets and liabilities.
(i) to review whether, and if not why not, the internal audit function in RTÉ and the duly qualified auditors appointed by the Board of RTÉ pursuant to section 109(3)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 2009 examined or queried:
• the governance of or procedures underpinning the operation of the barter account;
• any transactions made through the barter account;
• the accounting treatment of the barter account; or,
• the existence of the barter account.