RTÉ pay report puts focus on Deloitte’s role in Tubridy affair

RTÉ auditor Deloitte has been drawn into the controversy over Ryan Tubridy’s pay after accountants Grant Thornton examined the firm’s role in the affair.

The RTÉ board is discussing a new Grant Thorton report which investigates how the national broadcaster underdeclared Mr Tubridy’s pay by €120,000 between 2017 and 2019.

The report is understood to set out that the misleading figures RTÉ published in 2021 were different from the correct figures recorded on RTÉ's payroll systems.

This reflected a decision to not include a total of €120,000 from Mr Tubridy’s declared earnings after he waived a €120,000 termination fee due in 2020 at end of his contract.

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The report also examined evidence that Deloitte provided “independent reasonable assurance reports” to RTÉ on top presenter pay.

RTÉ's position was that Mr Tubridy’s unpaid end-of-contract fee could be set off against his actual pay because his outgoing contract said the €120,000 he waived included services additional to his radio and Late Late Show work, which were not provided.

However, Grant Thornton found the money was due to Mr Tubridy in any event because the contract reflected a “use it or lose it” position in which the €120,000 would have to be paid in 2020 even if he was not required to provide any additional services.

Evidence examined by Grant Thornton suggests Deloitte concurred with RTÉ's accounting treatment of Mr Tubridy’s pay. There was no comment from RTÉ or from Deloitte on the new Grant Thornton report.

The latest paper from Grant Thornton follows a June report into €225,000 of hidden Tubridy payments in 2020-2022, which set off a political furore over governance failings in RTÉ and a financial crisis because of falling licence fee income.

Mr Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly always insisted he was entitled to the €120,000 termination fee he waived, objecting to proposals in a draft side letter to set off the waived income from his actual earnings in 2017, 2018 and 2019

Although the ultimate side letter text reflected the changes suggested by Kelly which removed references to setting off the €120,000, RTÉ still went ahead with the under-declaration of Mr Tubridy’s pay.

Grant Thornton examined evidence showing RTÉ emailed Deloitte in February 2020 showing the auditor the original side letter for review asking “can you please confirm that the attached side letter appropriate and underpins this proposed reporting treatment?”

Deloitte responded: “That will be okay from our perspective in terms of the netting of expense in those years for the purposes of top talent on the basis that ‘17 and ‘18 have not yet been closed.”

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The following April RTÉ financial controller Richard Collins emailed Deloitte with a “marked up” version of the side letter which excluded reference to proposal to set off the waived €120,000 fee against Mr Tubridy’s actual earnings.

Mr Collins later emailed an RTÉ colleague to confirm the side letter excluding reference to the set-off “was fine”. After verbal consultations with Deloitte, he was quoted saying Deloitte could “could live with this and the accounting treatment.”

Grant Thornton reported Deloitte advising that they had a record of Mr Collins’ email being received from Mr Collins and an email requesting a call that evening.

Deloitte’s told Grant Thornton: “In relation to the final signed agreement it states: ‘In consideration of the parties entering in to the agreement and RTÉ providing related side letters, it is hereby agreed that all pre-existing agreements are terminated and neither party has any continuing obligations or entitlements thereunder’.”

Deloitte added: “We concluded that the substance of the final signed agreement was not inconsistent with the previous draft received such that there were undelivered services in the 2015 contracts, and it was negotiated between the parties that this undelivered service was not now being sought by RTÉ in return for the final loyalty bonus being waived.”