The fundamental questions facing RTÉ's pay deal with Ryan Tubridy relate to trust, credibility and accountability.
The broadcaster publishes figures for its highest-earning stars at regular intervals. Those contracts are subject to intense public scrutiny.
However, the revelation that the organisation published incorrect information significantly undermines the trust between the broadcaster and its audience, politicians and regulators.
Here are some of the questions raised by this week's revelations:
Why did RTÉ guarantee to underwrite an agreement between Ryan Tubridy and its commercial partner?
Ryan Tubridy was paid for his work as a presenter by RTÉ but also entered a separate agreement where he would receive a payment of €75,000 per year, for three years, from a commercial partner of RTÉ.
Under this agreement with the commercial partner, RTÉ committed to pay the fees due to Mr Tubridy under the agreement, if the commercial partner pulled out, which it did after year one.
But if Mr Tubridy wished to make an agreement with a commercial partner, as he was free to do, it begs the question why RTÉ was involved.
Arguably, it should have been separate from Mr Tubridy's broadcasting work for RTÉ because he was paid for a number of personal appearances.
Who knew what and when?
RTÉ's statement said the issue was brought to light by a regular audit.
This is a trawl through the accounts of any company to ensure its financial statements are in order.
Last year's audit picked up an issue in relation to payments to Mr Tubridy and passed it on to the organisation's audit and risk committee. It asked accountants Grant Thornton to establish the facts.
Last Friday, the committee received the report, and the issue was discussed by the RTÉ board, which prompted a statement from RTÉ this evening. But the fact that this was only picked up in a routine audit highlights a significant issue for the organisation.
It also raises fundamental questions about who exactly knew about these payments and when they knew. Who signed off on the agreement? And who knew RTÉ had published erroneous figures?
Why did this happen?
RTÉ's statement makes references to its focus on "achieving cost savings due to the wider financial circumstances of the organisation" and its commitment to "reduce the fees paid to RTÉ's top 10 most highly paid on air presenters by 15%".
The additional payments made by the commercial partner to Mr Tubridy allowed RTÉ to say he was paid less than half a million euro. In reality, he was paid more than €500,000 annually between 2017 and last year.
The payments were made to Ryan Tubridy's agent on Mr Tubridy's behalf. When the commercial partner did not renew the agreement for a second year, it then fell to RTÉ to make those additional payments of €75,000 per annum because it had underwritten the agreement.
At that point the payments from RTÉ were higher than the published figures, and the broadcaster should have publicly stated that Mr Tubridy was paid more than €500,000 by RTÉ.
Is the issue broader than RTÉ's deal with Ryan Tubridy?
RTÉ says it has conducted a review of its top presenters' pay and found that all other deals were correctly reported. But it has also asked Grant Thornton to do a further validation process.
What did Ryan Tubridy know?
He says it is unfortunate these errors occurred, and he cannot shed any light on why RTÉ treated the payments as it did.
He said: "This is a matter for RTÉ, and I have no involvement in RTÉ's internal accounting treatment or RTÉ's public declarations in connection with such payments."
What now?
RTÉ comes under the responsibility of Minister for Media Catherine Martin. She had called RTÉ chairperson Siún Ní Raghallaigh to a meeting on Monday.
Minister Martin says the public rightly expects much higher standards "of transparency and accountability from Ireland's public service broadcaster" and describes it as "unacceptable these have not been met". Ms Ní Raghallaigh says people will be held accountable for this.
The RTÉ board now needs to convince the Government that it has controls in place to ensure this never happens again.
Read more
Tubridy surprised by RTÉ announcements on payments
RTÉ payments 'a breach of trust unparalled in RTÉ history' - NUJ
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