KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 11): Ernst & Young Consulting Sdn Bhd (EY Consulting) said it has undertaken its duties professionally and that it stands by all its actions to date in response to the legal action taken by Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd against it.

“Ernst & Young Consulting Sdn Bhd was appointed by the board of directors of Serba Dinamik to undertake a Special Independent Review (SIR), under the directive of Bursa Malaysia.

“We disagree with the position taken by Serba Dinamik. We undertook our duties professionally and stand by all our actions to date,” EY Consulting said in a statement.

Serba Dinamik had appointed EY Consulting to undertake the SIR on July 2, after the company disputed audit discrepancies amounting to over RM3 billion in financial accounts for the 12-month period ended Dec 31, 2020 flagged by its former auditor KPMG.

Serba Dinamik sued KPMG for alleged negligence and breach of statutory duty, prompting the latter to resign as the company’s external auditor.

After months of waiting for Serba Dinamik to reveal the findings of EY’s special review, the investing fraternity was presented with two more lawsuits. The debt-laden company took legal action against Bursa Malaysia after the exchange suspended the trading of its shares and warrants.

The suspension came as Serba Dinamik declined to make public the findings up until Sept 30, 2021.

Serba Dinamik sued EY Consulting, seeking to nullify the latter’s appointment as the reviewer and to block any sharing of any findings from the review.

This was on grounds that EY Consulting was not registered as an auditor with the Audit Oversight Board, and that EY Consulting misled the company into thinking it meets the criteria to be appointed as the special independent reviewer.

Given the complications brought by the legal standoff between Serba Dinamik and EY Consulting, many ponder whether the special review is on-going and minority shareholders would eventually be informed of the truth.