The internal audit found in 2009-10, when disgraced peer Lord Hanningfield was leader, one driver was finishing at 01:00 and starting again at 07:00.

BBC: Essex County Council broke employment law on driver hours

Until the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was passed after Enron, the audit industry was self-regulating and established its own professional standards, enforced only via peer reviews.

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