i don't think this helps much wrt investor confidence...
quote.bloomberg.com
06/11 14:39
CMS Energy Shares Fall as Andersen Says Opinions Not Reliable
By Eileen O'Grady
Dearborn, Michigan, June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of CMS Energy Corp. fell as much as 11 percent after the company's former auditor, Arthur Andersen LLP, said its opinions on CMS's financial results for the past two years can't be relied on.
CMS, the owner of Michigan's largest utility, declined $1.42, or 8.5 percent, to $15.37 in early afternoon trading after touching $15.01. The stock had fallen 30 percent this year.
CMS is revising its financial statements for 2000 and 2001 after admitting it used sham energy trades to inflate revenue by $5.2 billion. Chief Executive William T. McCormick Jr. resigned after the disclosures, and the company has named a special committee to investigate the so-called ``round-trip'' trades.
Andersen said it wouldn't be able to give an opinion on CMS's restated results because of the committee probe, CMS said in a statement. Ernst & Young LLP, which the company hired last month to replace Andersen, will audit the restatements once the investigation is complete, Dearborn, Michigan-based CMS said.
In a round-trip trade, a company simultaneously buys and sells power or natural gas at the same price and quantity with the same company. Bogus trades and accounting errors disclosed by CMS, Dynegy Inc. and Reliant Resources Inc. in recent weeks led to probes by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and offices of the U.S. Attorney. |
