The Vatican asks Ernst & Young to carry out a "verification and consultancy work on the economic activities and administrative management processes" of the Governorate of Vatican City. Another change for the small state in the heart of Rome, which under Francis' pontificate has already entrusted the Promontory group with the verification of the current accounts of the IOR and the "due diligence" of APSA (Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See).
In the past, the Governorate was the scene of controversies over procurement which led the then secretary, Monsignor Carlo Maria Viganò, to denounce cases of "corruption" in the Papal States in a letter to the then secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone, which ended up in the newspapers , inaugurated the Vatileaks case, the leak of confidential documents of the Holy See.
"On 15 November - reads a release from the presidency of the Governorate held by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello - the Governorate of the Vatican City State, in agreement with the Pontifical Commission for Study and Guidelines for Economic and Administrative Affairs of the Holy See , following a selection procedure, mandated an EY international team to carry out verification and consultancy work on the Entity's economic activities and administrative management processes. The documentation containing the outcome of the consultancy will be available to the Commission and will be used to propose any recommendations aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the economic and administrative processes of the Governorate".
Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, formerly at Ernst & Young, was also a member of the commission of reference, later criticized by some sectors of the Vatican after her papal appointment.