An auditor has found flaws in accounting practices at BearingPoint Inc., formerly KPMG Consulting Inc., according to a regulatory filing.
Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers identified “material weaknesses” in BearingPoint's accounting for the fiscal year ended June 30, the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said.
The problems were mainly found in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, according to the filing.
The McLean, Va., consulting company attributed the problems to its recent acquisitions of consulting services in 15 countries. BearingPoint said the deals resulted in the consolidation of “a variety of disparate accounting systems of varying quality.”
In addition, BearingPoint, which was formed as a division of KPMG LLP Consulting, the U.S. arm of Dutch accounting giant KPMG International, also pointed to its hiring of a new chief financial officer and a change in its corporate controller as contributing factors.
In August, BearingPoint restated its financial results for the first three quarters of fiscal 2003, citing adjustments for acquisitions and other matters.
BearingPoint hired PricewaterhouseCoopers in June, after dismissing independent auditor Grant Thornton LLP.
Shares of BearingPoint traded closed Tuesday at $7.98, down 63 cents, or 7.3 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange.
