Auditor warnings

U.S. accounting authorities are
revisiting the knotty issue of 'going concern' opinions, the
warnings that auditors must attach to companies' annual reports
when there is a risk they may not survive. [ID:nS1E78R0F2] Auditors
suffered a black eye during the credit crisis for
failing to warn of troubles of many large banks and other
companies that collapsed. The Financial Accounting Standards Board has been
considering a proposal that would put more onus on companies
themselves to issue going-concern warnings; the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board, meanwhile, is reviewing the
standards for auditors. Below are some of the largest U.S. public companies that
filed for bankruptcy during the credit crisis and whether they
received a going-concern warning from their auditors.
BANKRUPTCY    ASSETS    GOING CONCERN
COMPANY              YEAR      ($BILLIONS)    WARNING
Lehman Brothers      2008          691.0      No
Washington Mutual    2008          327.9      No
General Motors      2009          91.0      Yes
CIT Group            2009          80.4      No
Thornburg Mortgage  2009          36.5      Yes
IndyMac Bancorp      2008          32.7      No
General Growth      2009          29.6      Yes
Lyondell Chemical    2009          27.4      No
New Century          2007          26.1      No
Source: Audit Analytics and Bankruptcydata.com
(Reporting by Dena Aubin; Editing by Tim Dobbyn