Multiple sources told the Guardian that the Cabinet Office, responsible for oversight of government contractors, did not apply any pressure on Carillion’s directors to adopt the proposals, presented by accounting firm EY in mid-December last year. Several sources have confirmed to the Guardian that the Cabinet Office also saw EY’s calculations but did not put any pressure on Carillion directors to pursue it. “Both options were communicated to government, the company’s lenders and pension trustees at the time,” said the former directors’ spokesperson. Show Hide Carillion relied on major contracts, some of which proved much less lucrative than it thought. It said Carillion compensated for its failure to convert its reported profits into genuine cash by racking up ever higher debts.

Source: The Guardian March 04, 2018 18:00 UTC