EY death: CEO David Larocca blasted for speech at town hall after death of 27yo auditor

A company’s response to the death of an employee has angered employees, with its CEO speaking of a “difficult week”. Warning: Confronting

WARNING: Confronting

Workers at financial services firm, Ernst and Young have lashed out at a speech given by the company’s chief executive after an employee died at the firm’s Sydney offices.

In the early hours of Saturday, August 27, the body of senior auditor, Aishwarya Venkatachalam, 27, was found by police responding to a concern for welfare report. Police believe self harm was involved and have not investigated her death as suspicious.

Since her death, a friend of Ms Venkatachalam revealed she had complained about bullying and racism within the workplace in the months prior to her death.

Stream your news live & on demand with Flash. From CNN International, Al Jazeera, Sky News, BBC World, CNBC & more. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

A friend of Ms Venkatachalam friend said she complained of bullying and racism prior to her death.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, her friend Neeti Bisht referred to a conversation the pair had in April of this year.

“She mentioned how mean some of her colleagues were,” she said.

“I think things had just started to brew then … (some of) her colleagues and the racist angle was at play here.”

News.com.au is not suggesting the work culture at EY contributed to the employee’s death.

The EY employee was found at the firm’s Sydney offices.

Speaking at a town-hall meeting that brought together about 9000 staff, CEO David Larocca spent just four minutes talking about Ms Venkatachalam’s death, the Daily Mail reports.

Mr Larocca apparently didn’t refer to the former auditor by name, instead referring to Ms Venkatachalam as “one our Sydney assurance team members”.

“We had a really difficult week, made even more distressing for many by the reporting in the press,” he said.

“Our entire focus has been on supporting everyone impacted by this starting with her family, everyone at EY that’s been directly impacted, and our broader EY community.”

News.com.au has reached out to EY for comment but had not received a response at the time of publishing.

EY Chief Executive David Larocca was criticised for his response to the EY employer’s death. Picture: Jane Dempster/The Australian

Mr Larocca’s speech stoked criticisms that he was “insensitive” towards the tragic death, the Mail reports.

One senior employee called it an “epic failure of leadership has left many staff utterly dejected”.

Previously, EY employees have criticised the company for not addressing Ms Venkatachalam’s apparent suicide.

“There’s a black cloud looming over us at EY and it was been so odd because people are skirting around the event,” read comments shared on Instagram account The Aussie Corporate.

“They’re either saying ‘it’s so sad’, or just aren’t addressing it at all.”

Another EY staffer said: “Felt terribly strange going into the EY office yesterday, as it felt like nothing had changed and no one wanted to address the elephant in the room.

“Seems to be a reflection on leadership if something like this happens but it is just BAU (business as usual). Made me feel like a totally replaceable resource.”

Some EY employees have expressed concerns that the company has not adequately addressed Ms Venkatachalam’s death. Picture: Gabriel Bouys/ AFP

In the aftermath of Ms Venkatachalam’s death, a statement from Mr Larocca said the firm was “in the process of conducting a comprehensive and wide-ranging internal review encompassing health and safety, security, social events as they relate to our staff”. Speaking of the independent review, he said the company was still “refining the scope”.

“But it will look at security and safety of our premises, how we work, including how we connect at social functions, and the mental health and wellbeing supports that we have at EY,” he said.

Originally published as EY death: CEO David Larocca blasted for speech at town hall after death of 27yo auditor