PWC conclusions might lead to some interesting finger-pointing, says Elliot Lane
The long-awaited report by PricewaterhouseCoopers on Independent Insurance is expected to be published in the coming months.
The long dreary summer might suddenly fizz into action with the onset of the weatherman's predicted heatwave and some interesting finger pointing.
A hack's life can be difficult during July and August as the children go on school holidays along with half the industry.
But there is an air of expectation that the report could be quite explosive. Well as much as an auditor's report can be exciting...
The delay has been offset by the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) investigation, which is expected to be published around the same time. No one knows what the outcome might be, but once it is published it will trigger further reports and investigations.
Based on the SFO's record to date when investigating major fraud, any convictions of the Independent Insurance executive board will be difficult, if not impossible.
If, and this is naturally hypothetical, it should fall to any one man for blame or charges it would have to be the man who put his signature to financial documents.
But then the act has to be intentional and that one person could have been duped.
If the SFO finally reports there is nothing to report, then through a memorandum of understanding between itself and the FSA, documents can then be passed to Canary Wharf.
However, sources close to the FSA said that would kickstart a completely new investigation, which could take months if not years.
Either way, hopefully some of the questions the industry has been asking for the past three years will finally be answered.
