The review was prompted by a string of corporate failures, most notably the big construction services group, Carillion, in 2018. Its recommendations have, however, been given a sharper focus by the collapse of Wirecard and the failure of its auditors, EY, to uncover what it has described as an "elaborate fraud" enacted over a number of years. In fact there had been external cynicism about the previously high-flying Wirecard's finances from journalists and short-sellers for more than a decade, along with several investigations by Germany's regulators.