Saracens face 'forensic' financial audit if crowned Prem champions
Following the implementation of toughened-up salary cap regulations after the Lord Myners review, Saracens will face an extended forensic financial audit if crowned Gallagher Premiership champions this Saturday. The London club was automatically relegated from the top flight at the end of the 2019/20 season for repeated salary cap breaches.
That controversy included a salary cap review done by the late Lord Myers and one of the additional recommendations adopted outside of the regular annual audit of all 13 clubs was that the title winners every season would be subjected to an extended review undertaken by PwC’s forensic services team.
This resulted in an extended audit into 2021 champions Harlequins, as they became the first club to win the Premiership title with these new regulations in place, and a similar investigation will take place into whichever club wins the 2021/22 season final between Saracens and Leicester this Saturday at Twickenham.
It will be an intriguing review no matter which club takes the title at the weekend. While an investigation into Saracens following their first year back in the top flight would understandably attract massive interest given their previous salary cap troubles, Leicester have had its own historic issues with its salary accounting and a recent investigation only culminated in March.
That found that a third-party company had made payments to the image rights companies of Leicester players and the outcome was that Premiership Rugby ordered the Tigers to pay £309,841.06 in fines and taxes over these issues surrounding seasons 2016/17 to 2020/21.
Ahead of this weekend’s 2021/22 final between Saracens and Leicester, Premiership Rugby has now published its 20-page salary cap report covering the 2020/21 season and the level of additional investigation that was done on Harlequins because they were crowned 2021 champions was immense. There were no adverse findings regarding Quins – but the increased policing left nothing to chance.
The report read: “In line with the additional powers provided as part of the salary regulations 2020/21, this was the first season in which an extended forensic audit was completed. As 2020/21 winners, Harlequins was the first club to be subject to an extended forensic audit using forensic technology to analyse the communications between club officials and playing staff that may have a direct impact on the application of the salary regulations at the club.
“This extended audit covers both the club and players. Email records from selected club officials during a stated timeframe were obtained and reviewed, and the mobile phones of selected club officials were forensically imaged.
“PwC’s forensic software then applied a targeted set of search terms to the data (from the emails and mobile phones, including WhatsApp messages) in order to identify information within the responsive documents that indicated areas of potential relevance to the salary regulations.
“The documents deemed as potentially relevant were then reviewed by the salary cap director who then met with the club CEO and other relevant staff to discuss the results of the extended audit and for them to answer any questions in respect of any relevant documents.
“The regulations require the salary cap director to review tax returns and bank statements of at least half of the club’s senior players, including at least half of the club’s best-paid players. In addition to this, the salary cap director interviewed at least five of the club’s players.
“Harlequins and their players provided full and open co-operation during this process. There were no adverse findings coming from this extended audit that would impact the club’s compliance with the salary cap. Harlequins and their players should be commended for their approach, support and full compliance towards this new provision within the salary cap.”
Speaking at a media briefing following the publication of the 2020/21 report, salary cap director Andrew Rogers said about the new regulations: “We have just completed that with Harlequins for last year so that covers a real detailed forensic assessment that goes into club officials’ emails and phone messages as well as player bank statements and tax returns for over half the squad, so it is a very detailed piece of work that we now have undertaken this year and will continue to do so going forward.
“With the annual audit we do at least three players at each club for their tax returns and then for the extended audit, the champions, we do half of their playing squad, we look at tax returns and bank statements over a period of time. It’s more extensive. However, there is nothing stopping me at any point of time from making requests to a player or a club for further information if I suspect there is some wrongdoing.”
- Click here to read the full 20-page 2020/21 Premiership Rugby salary cap report
Comments on RugbyPass
Should've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to comments