Ernst & Young (EY) has fired a number of employees in the United States for allegedly cheating during mandatory professional training sessions. The dismissals followed an investigation into the firm’s “EY Ignite Learning Week” in May, where some employees were caught attending multiple online training sessions simultaneously.
The firings have sparked controversy, with some of the dismissed employees claiming they were unaware of any rule violations. Many argued that EY’s promotional materials encouraged them to attend as many sessions as possible. One former consultant told The Financial Times, “We all work with three monitors. I was hoping to hear new ideas that I could bring to the table to separate myself from others.” Another ex-employee expressed disbelief, stating, “EY breeds a culture of multitasking. If you’re forced to bill 45 hours a week and do many more hours of internal work, how can it not?”
The trainings were mandatory for employees to meet the firm’s annual requirement of 40 continuing professional education (CPE) credits. However, EY has maintained that participating in more than one session at a time was a violation of ethical standards.
