オリンパス事件、監査事務所に注目が集まる（ＷＳＪより）

Olympus Casts Spotlight on Accounting（注：記事を検索しなおすと登録不要で読めるようです。また、和文の記事（要登録）が日本版に掲載されているようです。）

オリンパスが損失隠しのための20年にわたる不正経理を認めたことにより、オリンパスの財務諸表を、その間承認してきた会計事務所に焦点が当たっているという記事。特に2009年の監査人交代のいきさつについてふれています。

Olympus Corp.'s admission that it had finessed its accounting for two decades to hide losses cast a spotlight on the prominent accounting firms that signed off on the company's financial statements for that period.

この記事によると、あずさ監査法人は、2009年、4つの買収のうちのひとつについて、問題を提起し、回答が得られなければ、財務諸表を承認できないと主張したそうです。

In 2009, KPMG AZSA raised questions about one of the four acquisitions, according internal documents made public by Michael Woodford, the Olympus chief executive who was ousted last month. In fact, KMPG AZSA in 2009 refused to sign off on the company's accounts unless it could get the answers, according to people familiar with the situation.

あずさは、買収に関連する書類の閲覧を要求し、オリンパスの役員を厳しく問い詰めました。その結果、オリンパスは、3名の外部専門家からなる委員会を設置します。委員会は、6日間の調査ののち、不適切な活動の証拠はなかったという結論を出しました。

KPMG demanded to see documents related to the acquisitions and grilled Olympus executives on their activities, according to the people. In response, Olympus commissioned a report by a panel of three outside business experts―a lawyer, a financial adviser and a former business professor. That report, which followed a six-day investigation that the three-person panel said wasn't exhaustive, concluded that there was no evidence of improper activity.

報告書ののち、あずさはオリンパスの財務諸表を承認することに合意します。しかし、長年にわたる両者の関係はそこで終わってしまいました。菊川元会長は、内部メモの中で、「大きな見解の相違」についてふれています。

After that report, KPMG agreed to sign Olympus's financial statements. But the decades-long relationship between Olympus and KPMG AZSA then came to an end. Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, Olympus's chairman until he resigned two weeks ago, cited a "substantial difference of views" over the accounting, according to what Mr. Woodford said was a May 25, 2009, internal memo from the chairman. Olympus on Tuesday said Mr. Kikukawa was a player in the accounting coverup. He couldn't be reached for comment.

あずさ監査法人の後任には、新日本監査法人が就任しました。ウッドフォード元社長によれば、新日本も、2008年の買収について疑問視していたそうです。

KPMG AZSA was succeeded in 2009 by Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC. In a letter this year asking other Olympus executives about the company's acquisitions, Mr. Woodford noted that Ernst & Young also raised questions about the 2008 acquisitions though it ultimately signed the financial statements. It wasn't clear for what years Ernst & Young approved financial statements or whether the statements included misleading information.

いずれの監査法人も、疑問を感じつつも、その疑問点を検討したうえで、適正意見を出したのでしょう。報道によれば、金融庁や会計士協会が、両監査法人を調査するようですので、詳しい経緯も明らかになると思われます（まったく問題がなければ発表はされませんが）。

Shares Dive as Olympus Scrambles for Answers（ＮＹＴ）

監査人についてふれた部分の一部です。

The developments cast a harsh light on Olympus’s auditors, which have signed off on financial statements that may now be suspect. The auditors, KPMG and Ernst & Young ShinNihon, have not been accused of knowingly signing inaccurate statements.

KPMG was Olympus’s auditor for years until it had a falling out with management in 2009. A year earlier, KPMG had advised Olympus against awarding unusual fees to an obscure brokerage firm that advised on a deal. Cash payouts were preferable, the auditor said, but the financial adviser “strongly resisted the cash payment on the grounds that this will crystallize an immediate tax liability,” according to a document provided to The New York Times by Mr. Woodford.