Allfirst accounts “in order”

Conor Keane,

The move last night came as chief executive officers and chief financial officers of 700 of the top US companies raced to meet a deadline to file sworn statements attesting to the accuracy of their financial reports ahead of last night's deadline.

No Irish company has to file under the current order but Irish companies like AIB Bank, Bank of Ireland, CRH, Iona, Parthus Technologies, Riverdeep, Ryanair and Smartforce, who are quoted on US exchanges, may have to follow suit in the months ahead. AIB have already indicated that CEO Michael Buckley and CFO Gerry Kennedy will sign their end-of-year statements to attest to accuracy when they file returns with the SEC.

The unusual dictate for personally signed documents from the SEC resulted from the US regulatory body's need to restore public confidence in the equity markets, which has been shattered by the scandals like those at Enron and Worldcom. All companies with annual revenues exceeding $1.2 billion must comply.

The filings may reveal that some companies inflated earnings in earlier reports and are now revising them downward. The sworn statements from the CEOs and chief financial officers beginning with "To the best of my knowledge" are meant to vouch for the accuracy of reports for the quarter ended June 30 or any other second quarter for companies not on a calendar-year system.