Here's a good sign, GT stepping down will make it a trifecto, 3 independent auditors in 3 years :-). Was E&Y, then GT, who is left?
Edit: and directly preceded by the board resignations a few days ago.
The Bianco boys are making lgnd mgt look good.
GT didn't even make it a year....
Cell Therapeutics, Inc. to Engage New Independent Audit Firm
SEATTLE, Sept. 7 (2004) /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) (Nasdaq: CTIC; Nuovo Mercato) today announced that the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors will engage a new independent audit firm after Ernst & Young LLP notified CTI that they resigned as the company's independent auditor effective August 31, 2004. Ernst & Young issued unqualified opinions in CTI's financial statements for fiscal years 1992 through 2003, and there were no disagreements between the Company and Ernst & Young on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial disclosure or audit procedures. Ernst & Young has agreed to provide its full cooperation in the transition to a new audit firm.
"As part of our normal course of business to assess our vendors, the Audit Committee authorized a request for proposal from several independent auditors in late April. The evaluation, which was placed on hold just prior to our recent financing, has been reinitiated and we expect to engage a new firm in the next several weeks," said Louis A. Bianco, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "We have had an excellent professional relationship with Ernst & Young over a number of years. We regret their decision, but understand that it is the result of Ernst & Young's realignment of its own resources and relationships and is consistent with a growing trend in the accounting sector."
REPORT OF GRANT THORNTON LLP, INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Board of Directors and Shareholders
Cell Therapeutics, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Cell Therapeutics, Inc. as of December 31, 2004, and the related consolidated statements of operations, shareholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for the year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Cell Therapeutics, Inc. as of December 31, 2004, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Our audit was conducted for the purpose of forming an opinion on the basic financial statements taken as a whole. The financial statement schedule listed in the index at Item 15(a) is presented for purposes of additional analysis and is not a required part of the basic financial statements. This schedule has been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audit of the basic financial statements and, in our opinion, is fairly stated in all material respects in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the effectiveness of Cell Therapeutics, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2004, based on the criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 28, 2005 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
/s/ GRANT THORNTON LLP
Seattle, WA
February 28, 2005
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REPORT OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP,
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Directors and Shareholders
Cell Therapeutics, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Cell Therapeutics, Inc. as of December 31, 2003 and the related consolidated statements of operations, shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2003. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a) for the years ended December 31, 2002 and 2003. These financial statements and schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and schedule based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Cell Therapeutics, Inc. at December 31, 2003 and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2003, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule for the years ended December 31, 2002 and 2003, when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein.
ERNST & YOUNG LLP
Seattle, Washington
February 6, 2004
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