Peregrine drops KPMG; cites audit independence rules: Software manufacturer Peregrine Systems, which was forced to restate its past 11 quarters in an attempt to correct questionable accounting procedures in booking some $100 million in revenue, has dropped newly hired auditor KPMG.
The company, based in San Diego, was investigating whether it failed to adjust revenues for returned products for sales that involved partners, consultants and retailers.
Peregrine said that KPMG, which it hired just two months ago, brought the discrepancies to the company’s attention. Andersen was the company’s previous auditor.
The Securities and Exchange Commission already has begun a probe of the company’s accounting practices.
Peregrine said that about $35 million of the $100 million in question were with KPMG and KPMG Consulting, which the company believes is in violation of auditor independence rules. The company said that its decision to drop KPMG was not the result of a disagreement on accounting principles.
Peregrine subsequently hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to complete the internal investigation into the revenue transactions that KPMG had been examining and said that it would search for a new auditor.
ServiceMaster named D&T as auditor: Diversified facilities management provider ServiceMaster Co. named Big Five firm Deloitte & Touche as its auditor, according to an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Deloitte succeeds embattled Big Five firm Andersen as ServiceMaster’s external auditor. ServiceMaster said that the change was not precipitated by any disagreements with Andersen over the company’s past two fiscal years.
In a prepared statement, Steven Preston, chief financial officer for the company, which is headquartered in Downers Grove, Ill., said, "We look forward to a similar relationship with Deloitte & Touche. The firm’s strength in consumer-related industries and their expertise in distributed models make them a good choice for ServiceMaster."
Form 8-K Filings
AER Energy Resources Inc. (Smyrna, Ga.), from Ernst & Young to Grant Thornton.
American Residential Investment Trust Inc. (San Diego), from KPMG to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Bitstream Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.), from Andersen to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Cardinal Health Inc. (Dublin, Ohio), from Andersen to Ernst & Young.
Cetalon Corp. (Irvine, Calif.), from Deloitte & Touche to Squar, Milner, Reehl & Williamson.
Cinergy Corp. (Cincinnati), from Andersen to Deloitte & Touche.
ConnectivCorp. (New York), from Andersen to Patrusky Mintz & Semel.
Crawford & Co. (Atlanta), from Andersen to Ernst & Young.
DualStar Technologies Corp. (Long Island City, N.Y.), from Grant Thornton to Grassi & Co.
Eden Bioscience Corp. (Bothell, Wash.), from Andersen to KPMG.
Edison International (Rosemead, Calif.), from Andersen to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Gateway International Holdings Inc. (Anaheim, Calif.), from Corbin & Wertz to Squar, Milner, Reehl & Williamson.
Headwaters Inc. (Draper, Utah), from Andersen to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Innotrac Corp. (Duluth, Ga.), from Andersen to Deloitte & Touche.
IWO Holdings Inc. (Albany, N.Y.), from PricewaterhouseCoopers to Ernst & Young.
Lear Corp. (Southfield, Mich.), from Andersen to Ernst & Young.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (New York), from Andersen to Ernst & Young.
McLaren Performance Technologies (Livonia, Mich.), from Ernst & Young to Grant Thornton.
Optelecom Inc. (Gaithersburg, Md.), from Deloitte & Touche to Ernst & Young.
Royal Acceptance Corp. (Floral Park, N.Y.), from Weinick Sanders Leventhal & Co. to Marcum & Kliegman.
Patriot Transportation Holding Inc. (Jacksonville, Fla.), from Deloitte & Touche to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Southern Peru Copper Corp. (Phoenix), from Andersen to Deloitte & Touche.
Stewart & Stevenson Services Inc. (Houston), from Andersen to Ernst & Young.
UAL Corp. (Chicago), from Andersen to Deloitte & Touche.
U.S. Plastic Lumber Corp. (Boca Raton, Fla.), from KPMG to BDO Seidman.
Weyerhaeuser Co. (Federal Way, Wash.), from Andersen to KPMG.
