Lehman smoking gun leaves E&Y facing questions

Lehman smoking gun leaves E&Y facing questions

Anton Valukas' account of Lehman Brothers' collapse shocks auditors and sparks scrabble for the truth about 'Repo'transactions

There were gasps of shock from senior auditors this week as they read Anton
Valukas’ account of Lehman Brothers’ collapse and the role accounting allegedly
played in distorting the bank’s position.

“It beggars belief,” said one, while another said it should lead to a
“rethink of the basic principles of financial reporting”.

The report was unsealed on Thursday afternoon by New York’s Southern District
Bankruptcy Court. Within hours, the key accusations in the 2,200 page had hit
the newswires.

It missed the early news­papers in London, but was picked up widely on the
internet. The morning was filled with incredulity and some cogitation over the
series of revelations. By midday, reports emerged that funds were funnelled
through Lehman’s UK arm. By the end of the day, there was talk of litigation
from creditors and criminal charges for directors.

By the following Monday, the accusations spurred the UK reporting regulator,
the Financial Reporting Council into action. In a carefully worded statement the
body said it would “ascertain the facts on how the ‘Repo’ transactions were
accounted for and audited in the UK” and had “asked Ernst & Young to provide
further information in relation to what happened in the UK.

E&Y said it would “co-operate fully” with all the requests.

Valukas’ report’s most sensational allegations came in volume three, which
centred on the use of a particular type of transaction known as Repo 105. The
phrase is already working its away into the accounting lexicon of shameful
practices.

But it would have been well known to senior management at Lehman, according
to Valukas’ report. Each morning, between April 2008 through to September 2008,
they were handed a report titled Balance Sheet and Disclosure Scorecard.

Sitting amid global and regional net balance and cash capital schedules was a
line which tracked the use of Repo 105 transactions.

Repo transactions are not particularly controversial. They are often used to
raise short-term capital by loaning assets in return for cash, with an
accompanying agreement that the assets will be repurchased down the track.
These types of transaction are commonplace. Lehman’s accounting treatment was
not.

Within Lehman, Repo 105 transactions were structured to remove risky assets
and liabilities from its balance sheet. An asset worth $105 would be exchanged
for a loan worth $100. The disparity in price meant Lehman could book the
transaction as a sale because it had lost “control” of the asset.

By booking the transaction as a sale it could remove the assets from its
books for seven to ten days, and artificially improve its balance book’s health.

Regulators say they expect a degree of “balance sheet window dressing” from
banks before result time, but Valukas claims the amounts Lehman was transferring
distorted its position.

Lehman’s use of Repo 105 transactions more than doubled in the span of five
reporting periods, from approximately $24bn (£15.8bn) in the fourth quarter of
2006 to $49.1bn and $50.4bn in the first and second quarter of 2008. This led
Valukas to his next question – where was the auditor?

Ernst & Young (E&Y) points out that its last full audit was for the
fiscal year ending 30 November 2007. It also makes clear Lehman’s collapse was
the result of “a series of unprecedented adverse events in the financial
markets”.

Valukas, however, lays some blame at E&Y’s feet. He believes the firm
failed to take proper action when made aware about Lehman’s failure to disclose
the timing and volume of its Repo transactions. E&Y, however, has not
officially revealed the extent of its awareness of Repo 105 transactions.

Valukas points to a number of auditing standards, and specifically E&Y’s
engagement letter of 15 May 2007 where the firm warns that: “If we determine
that there is evidence that fraud or possible illegal acts may have occurred, we
will bring such matters to the attention of an appropriate level of management.”

Auditors in the UK have pointed out that E&Y’s defence may have some
substance. The strict rules which make up the US accounting system meant Lehman
were able to use a treatment which was legal. And E&Y is reported to have
said it viewed the repo transactions from only a “theoretical” point of view.

When E&Y says it’s report was “fairly presented in accordance with GAAP”,
this may well be the case.

Despite protestations, the potential liability may have larger implications
for E&Y. PwC, representing creditors of Lehman’s UK arm, could sue E&Y,
setting the stage for a long court room drama between two of the top four global
audit firms, over the world’s largest corporate collapse.

On Friday, senior PwC figures close to the administration said they had yet
to make a decision but were poring through the report.

It remains unclear what role E&Y’s UK arm played in the audit, however,
the report mentions that funds for the Repo 105 transactions ran through the
Lehman’s UK-based arm – Lehman Brothers International (Europe).

Any questions over the UK auditors’ conduct may lead to an investigation by
the accounting watchdog, The Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board, which
is understood to be looking at the report.

The lines between what E&Y knew, what they could have known and what they
should have known, will all feature centre stage as the saga unfolds.

Lehman-table-540

Further reading:

lehmanbrothers.com

Leader – audit’s big
question

On the money

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource