Ernst & Young pays $100m to settle US charges of cheating on ethics exams

SEC alleged audit employees cheated on exams required to obtain and maintain CPA licenses, and then misled investigators

Ernst & Young, one of the world's largest accounting firms, agreed to pay a record $100m to US regulators on Tuesday amid charges that dozens of its audit staff cheated on an ethics exam and misled investigators.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged that over multiple years" EY's audit professionals cheated on exams required to obtain and maintain Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licenses, and withheld evidence of this misconduct from the SEC's enforcement division during an investigation of the matter.