All four 'big four' accountancy firms have now been criticised by the US accounting watchdog, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).
After finding deficiencies in the audits performed by Deloitte and KPMG earlier this year, the Board has now found similar deficiencies in the work of Ernst & Young and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Reporting on its 2004 inspections, the Board says it found failures by both PwC and E&Y "to identify or appropriately address errors in the issuer's application of GAAP, including, in some cases, errors that appeared likely to be material to the issuer's financial statements". Both firms were also criticised for failing "to perform, or to perform sufficiently, certain necessary audit procedures" in some audits.
For more details see the PCAOB website.
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