SORT – Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Introduction
SORT is our Service Offering Reference Tool — an online system which contains information
about all of EY’s global core and Area-based services across our four service lines. SORT is
used globally by all our people, helping them explore potential client serving opportunities
and identify the services that best meet our clients' needs. It also provides independence
guidance and contacts to consult for more information.
SORT supports the Scope of Services Global Policy, effective since 1 May 2012, which
defines the scope of our permitted services and provides a process for approving new
services.
This document provides you with answers to the questions that are asked most frequently.

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General

Question What is SORT?

1:

Answer: SORT is our Service Offering Reference Tool which contains information about
all EY services – global core and Area-based – across our four service lines.
The tool shows which services are offered in each Area and Region and
indicates those that are global core, so our account teams can easily identify
the services that can be delivered with seamless, consistent high-quality
service, worldwide.
Each service entry contains a brief description of the service, its value
proposition, target market and client need, in addition to a list of client issues
which this service may help address. The independence and Risk Management \
Quality section of each service’s listing provides guidance to account teams,
including whether the service is permitted for Channel 1 clients and whom to
consult with for more information. This guidance should be used in conjunction
with the guidance provided in our global and country independence and other
policies.

Question Why do we need SORT?

2:

Answer: In line with our global strategy, we are providing our people with policies, tools
and training to enable our people to serve the right clients, with the right
services.
SORT is maintained jointly by Markets and Risk Management \ Quality teams
and as such is aimed at supporting both strategic and compliance processes.
SORT is an invaluable resource for helping with account planning and
engagement approval activities. You can use it, and the client issues
functionality in particular, in account team planning events and other account
planning discussions to help you identify the services that are relevant to
addressing your client’s needs.
At the same time, SORT enables you to check related Risk Management \
Quality requirements, including regulatory and independence considerations.
This makes SORT a useful consultation and risk management tool. It provides
high-level independence and Risk Management \ Quality guidance for all of our
services and should be used in conjunction with our EYG and local
independence policies. The tool also identifies the circumstances under which
our people should consult on independence matters, and the name of those to
consult with for more information.
SORT enables us to find the right services to meet our clients’ needs and helps
to connect us with local service line contacts around the world.

Question Who can access SORT?

3:

Answer: All EY people worldwide can access SORT at sort.ey.net. However, the tool
may be most useful to our leaders, business developers and client servers who
use it for guidance during account planning, pursuits and engagement
acceptance.

Question Can I share information contained in SORT with my clients or

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 4: prospective clients?

Answer: The information contained within SORT is for internal use only, including reports
generated from the tool.
However, consult with your local Area or service line Quality team if you would
like to use any SORT content in materials for clients.

Question Does SORT provide a complete overview of services offered by EY

5: globally and in my country?

Answer: SORT contains information about all EY services, global and Area-based (which
also includes Regional and country level services), across all four service lines.
However, the tool may not contain information about a new service if it has only
been identified recently and has not yet received appropriate service line,
independence and Risk Management \ Quality reviews.

Question How is SORT tailored for my country?

6:

Answer: Global services are offered across all our Areas and Regions, but some Regions
may have different rules and regulations about risk, independence and conflicts
of interest. The independence conclusions can be different if regulations in your
Region are more restrictive than the EY Global Independence Policy, and
additional guidance about those regulations is tailored accordingly.
Service line and Risk Management \ Quality contacts for global services are also
specific to each Region, so that SORT gives you the most appropriate point of
contact for your enquiries.
While SORT contains information about global services, it also contains
information about local services, which are offered in selected Regions. These
services appear without a “G” symbol next to them, so that you can identify
them as non-global services.

Question How are services updated and populated in SORT?

7:

Answer: All our services are formally reviewed every two years to ensure they are
strategically aligned and in accordance with our Scope of Services Global Policy,
and all changes or updates are approved by our service line, Independence and
Quality leaders at a Regional, Area and global level (as appropriate) before
being updated in SORT.
Global, Area and Regional champions are responsible for populating and
updating the services in SORT, including editing the contacts section, adding
links and additional Risk Management \ Quality and independence guidance.
This team can be contacted by e-mail at: Sort.Support@ey.com.
Any concerns about updating a particular service should be directed to the
appropriate SORT champion, or the service line contact designated for the
service.

Question If I think a service isn't up to date, whom should I contact?

8:

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 Answer: If you think the information about a particular service is not up to date, you can
send an email to Sort.Support@ey.com or contact the designated service line
contact.

Question How does SORT support the engagement acceptance process?

9:

Answer: It is important to note that SORT is not an engagement acceptance tool. SORT
does not replace GTAC (Global Tool for Acceptance and Continuance) or any
other client and engagement acceptance and continuance processes or tools in
use in your Region or country.
Rather, SORT is an information resource providing high-level guidance on
independence and conflict checking matters which are important to consider
during engagement acceptance. SORT also identifies who you should consult
with prior to accepting certain engagements, to ensure independence and other
risk factors are appropriately considered.

Question How does the information in SORT relate to our Independence policy?
10:

Answer: SORT complements, but is not a replacement for, our existing service line and
EYG and local independence policies. SORT is intended to provide high-level
guidance only, and you need to consider the facts and circumstances of each
engagement to determine the appropriate independence conclusion. Always
consult with others if you are not sure about an independence assessment.

Question What do the terms “Allowed’, “Allowed subject to certain

11: considerations”, “Prohibited”, “Advanced Approval required” and
“N/A” mean in the Independence section?

Answer: The term “Allowed” means that, under the relevant independence rules,
service line and other policies, we are generally able to provide the service
being described to the type of client indicated with no specific restrictions or
prohibitions.
A classification of “Allowed” still requires adherence to all EYG policies,
including EYG Independence, Conflicts, guidance on professional fees,
engagement acceptance, appropriate staffing and other service line specific
policies. Where applicable, for Channel 1 clients, this also includes the
independence rules of the SEC, PCAOB, other regulators and professional
bodies. Allowable services may not include activities which are prohibited for
Channel 1 clients. Reference should always be made to our detailed service line
guidance and EYG and local independence policies.
The term "Allowed subject to certain considerations" indicates the
provision of the service or activities within the service may require further
analysis by the engagement team and may be subject to certain considerations
or restrictions as noted below.
The term "Prohibited" means that the service being described may not be
performed for the type of client indicated under the relevant independence
rules and/or EY policies. Certain prohibited services to certain affiliates of an
audit client may be allowed if they meet a "not subject to audit exception”.
Consultation with the Country Independence Leader is required and the
consultation protocols noted in the “Consult” definition should be followed.

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 The term “Advanced Approval required” means the provision of this service
requires advance approval from independence. Written documentation to
evidence this approval should be maintained in the workpapers.
The term “N/A” is used to indicate when the service being described is not
relevant to and therefore not offered to the type of client indicated. For
example, audit support services may not be applicable to a Channel 2 client, for
whom, by definition, we do not provide audit services.

Question I don’t understand how to navigate SORT. What assistance is available

12: to help me?

Answer: In the Guidance section of SORT you can find an online demonstration of how to
navigate the site, plus a SORT User Manual which gives you more detailed
direction.
Alternatively, you can contact your global, Area or Regional administrator by
sending an email to Sort.Support@ey.com. Your administrator will be able to
provide you with further guidance or training.

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Using the tool

Question How do I find out which services are offered in an Area, Region or
13: country?

Answer: When you access SORT, it automatically opens at the Region in which you are
located. To look at other Regions, in the menu at the top of the screen, click on
Change Area. If you:
- Select Global, you will see all global services – but please note that
these templates do not provide any specific Regional or country
independence or Risk Management \ Quality guidance.
- Select the Area and then the Region you are interested in, you will
see all the global and local services offered by the Region. If there is more
than one country within the Region, the specific countries offering the
service will be listed in the service description.

Question What does the "G" symbol mean?

14:

Answer: A “G” symbol appears on the left side of a service name (in all menus, tables
and also in the service description) to indicate that a service is global. This
enables our global account teams to easily identify those services that can be
delivered worldwide. Any service without the “G” symbol is a local service,
provided only in selected Regions or countries.

Question I can't find the service I’m looking for. What should I do?
15:

Answer: There are many ways to find a service within the tool.
One feature of SORT is the “client issues” menu, which allows to you to browse
services by issues that are affecting your client. To make this possible, client
issues have been mapped to all our global services. This enables you to quickly
identify the full range of services that can help address your client’s needs.
Alternatively, click in the News and tips box on the SORT home page to watch a
short clip explaining how this feature can be used.
Please refer to the User Manual in the Guidance section where the use of the
Client Issues menu is explained in detail. This can be useful if you know what
your client’s key issues are, but you don’t know which services you can offer
them. Clicking on an issue and then sub-issue in the menu will produce a list of
links to all the services that could be useful to your client. Clicking on any of the
links in the list will take you straight to more detailed information about that
service, including independence guidance.
If you know the service line or sub-service line of the service you are looking for,
you can browse from the service line menus at the top of the page through the
hierarchy to locate the service you are looking for.
You may also click on the Advance Search function on the SORT home page to
get a list of all the services in SORT for each edition. Use may use filters to
narrow your search and can find the information you are looking for.

Question What if I still can't find the service I'm looking for?

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 16:

Answer: If you can't find the service you are searching for, it may be because in your
Area or Region this service is known under a different name, or because the
service is covered by a more general template created for a group of similar
services. The service descriptions used within SORT are based upon each
service line’s global service, designed to provide us with a common language to
describe our services worldwide. Your local sub-service line/platform leader can
provide further guidance on understanding the global services.
If you still can’t identify the service you are looking for, it may also be because
it’s a new service, or because it has not yet been added to SORT. If this is the
case, click on Guidance in the menu, then Approving New Services for SORT and
contact the person listed for your Area who will be able to assist you in creating
a new service in your Area/Region.

Question How can I print out services from SORT?

17:

Answer: When looking at a service, you will find a print preview button at the top right of
the page. Clicking on this will show a printable version of the service in a new
window, where you can click on the print button to print the service

Question Can I save copies of services from SORT?

18:

Answer: When looking at a service, you will find an ‘Export to Word’ button at the top
right of the page. Clicking on this will open a Word version of the service in a
new window, and you can save the service as a Word document from there.

Question Can I get reports of the services in SORT?

19:

Answer: Reports are available in SORT and can be obtained by emailing

Sort.Support@ey.com. Reports are produced in Excel format, and can contain
all the information in the service templates, or just selected information, as
desired.

Question I am not sure if a service I have found describes my particular

20: engagement. What should I do?

Answer: Questions about a particular service should be directed to the service line
contact designated for the service. If you can't find a specific service, but you
know the sub-service line, you may contact the sub-service line leader to find
the appropriate service.

Question How do I find out which services I can offer to a Channel 1 client?
21:

Answer: The information on the permissibility of services can be can be obtained by a

Listing of Services report generated in SORT. The Listing of Services report
contains all the information which is visible in SORT for all the editions. You may
request the information you are looking for by emailing
Sort.Support@ey.com. Administrators will provide you the report reflecting
the information you wish to seek. Reports are produced in Excel format, and can

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 contain all the information in the service templates.
You may use the filter option to see which all services are permitted, depending
upon the nature of the engagement, you can narrow the search to include
“Allowed subject to certain considerations” in addition to “Allowed” (these
services require a consultation to determine if they are appropriate for a Ch1
client). If you are searching non-SEC Ch1, please refer to the Risk
Management \ Quality guidance for each service returned in the results, since
some Regions may have different channel restrictions for locally listed Ch1 and
non-listed Ch1.

Question Can I copy parts of the SORT service entries, such as descriptions,
23: value propositions and client needs, into proposals or other marketing
documentation?

Answer: The use of material from SORT is subject to approval from your Area, service
line Quality or Risk Management leader, so please ensure you have the relevant
approval before incorporating materials into a proposal.
You may also consider contacting one of our SORT global or Area champions:

Assurance Advisory TAS Tax Risk Management

Americas Mark Chapin Rachel Fisher Sarah Schmidt Rick Capino Kim Horton
Dan Lentz –
FIDS Laura Fiske
Brian Gilbert
– CCaSS
Yael Polinsky
– FAAS
Stephen
Seliskar - ACR
EMEIA Bernard Nathalie Van Andreas Rosalind Upton Johanna
Heller Vliet Nendza Hermanussen
Asia Pacific John O'Grady Amanda John Gonsalves Carmen Chow Denise Frawley
Robinson
Japan Hiroshi Shogo Sudo Miho Sachiyo Fukui Kimihiro Izawa
Hamao Hatayama
Global Olivier Ron Lobel Steve Mukesh Warren Nicholson
Desprez Kristen Parkinson Gunamal (Global RM)
Kevin Casey Palombo Julian Guilherme Edyta Senderecka
Shepherd Franca (Global RM)
Susan Nee
(Independence)

Question How do I find out which services have been updated and/or added to
24: SORT recently.

Answer: All the Global services which have been modified to reflect the latest go to
market strategy and the services which are new and are added to SORT, can be
accessed through SORT Community CKR database.

CKR is a Lotus Notes based database where all the services which are modified
or/and are added in SORT are saved, sorted by the Service Line. The services

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 are saved under the head ‘New services’.

Question How do I find a list of GFIS codes assigned to the services in each
25: service line?

Answer: The information on the GFIS code for each service line can be obtained by a
Listing of Services report generated in SORT. Reports can be run only by the
administrators. The reports can be obtained by emailing
Sort.Support@ey.com. Reports are produced in Excel format, and can
contain all the information in the service templates.

Question How to obtain the list that summarize the permissibility of services
26: that apply for our Global/Area based services

Answer: The information on the permissibility of services can be can be obtained by a

Listing of Services report generated in SORT. The Listing of Services report
contains all the information which is visible in SORT for all the editions. You may
request the information you are looking for by emailing
Sort.Support@ey.com. Administrators will provide you the report reflecting
the information you wish to seek. Reports are produced in Excel format, and can
contain all the information in the service templates.

Question How can I submit ideas for improvement to SORT?

27:

Answer: We are always looking for ways to make SORT more useful to our people. If you
have any ideas about how we can improve SORT, in terms of functionality,
administrative processes or communication, please let us know by emailing
Sort.Support@ey.com.

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