Auditors in the Doghouse

Here's an interesting article in Barron's - March 19, 2011.


"The financial statements of Lehman Brothers, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Washington Mutual, Bear Stearns and Countrywide all were graced with unqualified opinions by their auditor a few months before each of them entered bankruptcy or had to be rescued. Small wonder, then, that a survey by PCAOB's Investor Advisory Group released last week found that 45% of the respondents, which included CFOs, COOs, audit committee members and investors, said audit reports don't provide enough valuable information; and close to 80% said they'd like auditors to disclose more about financial statements and audit risk."