因为低级错误　安达信陷入尴尬

安达信卷入安然(Enron，国际能源业巨头)案因为一个恐怕是会计学生才会犯的错误，安达信被卷入了Enron公司的收入虚报案。这个能源供应公司在过去４年虚报了5.86亿美元的收入。SCE正在调查Enron公司案，如果会计师事务所被认定有过错的话，会因此被SEC处罚。SEC的前首席会计师Lynn Turner说，安达信因为忽视了一个基本的会计原则而高估了股东权益。美国著名的会计网站Accountingweb.com评价说：会计师事务所所犯的错误即便是个一年级的会计学生都能够发现。Enron公司在股权交易中，公司发行股权换取了应收票据。这些应收票据在公司的账本上记录为资产，发行的股票记录为股东权益。但是， Lynn Turner说：“在没有收到现金前不能记录权益的增加，这是一个基本的会计原理。短期债券并不是现金。问题在于，如此简单的101会计条款问题会让合伙人与经理都疏忽呢？”另外，Enron承认在过去４年中高估了合计5.86亿美元的收入，大约占总收入的20％。据说，这些错报的原因是因为：公司对审计人员提出来的审计调整和重分类认为无关紧要的。SEC的一个会计公告中提到，如果单笔调整是在重要性以下的，但是与其他误报合并起来会使报告误导使用者的时候，这个调整就是必须的。因此，这些“无关紧要”将可能被判明是违反的。安达信LLP 2002年2月23日对安然公司出具的解释性无保留意见审计报告在这里。http://www.enron.com/corp/investors/annuals/2000/financial.pdf

Andersen embroiled in Enron row

Auditors from Andersen could find themselves in hot water after schoolboy accounting errors were uncovered at Enron, the energy supplier that has reported a $586m earnings overstatement.

The SEC is investigating what happened at Enron, which restated earnings for the past four years, and could sanction the Big Five firm if it was at fault. Former SEC chief accountant Lynn Turner has said that Andersen overlooked a basic accounting rule when it overstated shareholder equity.

And our American sister site AccountingWEB.com has reported on errors in the firm's financial statements that even a first year accounting student should have caught.

One of the main causes for the restatements of financial reports that will be required of Enron relates to transactions in which Enron issued shares of its own stock in exchange for notes receivable.

The notes were recorded as assets on the company books, and the stock was recorded as equity. However, Lynn Turner, former SEC chief accountant, points out, "It is basic accounting that you don't record equity until you get cash, and a note doesn't count as cash. The question that raises is: How did both partners and the manager on this audit miss this simple Accounting 101 rule?"

In addition, Enron has acknowledged overstating its income in the past four years of financial statements to the tune of $586 million, or 20%. The misstatements reportedly result from "audit adjustments and reclassifications" that were proposed by auditors but were determined to be "immaterial."

There is a chance that such immaterialities will be determined to be unlawful. An SEC accounting bulletin states that certain adjustments that might fall beneath a materiality threshold aren't necessarily material if such misstatements, when combined with other misstatements, render "the financial statements taken as a whole to be materially misleading".

Andersen stated: "This is an unfortunate situation. Issues have surfaced that have caused the company to restate its financial statements and to advise investors that they should not rely on its financial statements or our audit reports. We are cooperating with the company and its special committee to bring resolution to these matters."本文被转载在：《证券时报》2001-11-28 B4版