That does not mean that any of the statements misrepresented the financial conditions of the 23 brokerage firms whose audits were reviewed by inspectors from the board.
Democrats are now aiming their anger at J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, whose audit in May helped make the controversy public.
A spokesperson for Consumer Affairs Victoria, whose audit is expected to be completed on 29 February, said: "Cav subsequently made a number of requests for the required financial information.
If an audit signed by a certain partner later blew up, that could be devastating to his or her career if investors shied away from any companies whose audits he later signed.
In a culture that investors might prefer, a Deloitte partner whose audit failed to pass muster with the board might find that his career prospects had worsened, as others who did better audits were promoted.
A spokeswoman for the city comptroller, John C. Liu, whose audit this year highlighted some of the issues that eventually surfaced in the federal indictment, said Monday that the letter reinforced his concerns about SAIC.
Treasury inspector general J. Russell George, whose audit served as the foundation of the Internal Revenue Service's targeting controversy, suggested during a congressional hearing on Thursday that he identified as a Democrat before becoming a Republican.
Now Andersen, whose audits of Enron's books disclosed none of the convoluted and questionable practices that brought Enron down, has asked Mr. Volcker to oversee its efforts to raise standards.
The Connections system has already come under fire from the State Comptroller, H. Carl McCall, whose audit earlier this year found that millions of dollars in computer equipment could not be accounted for.
A large accounting firm accused William H. Webster, the chairman of the government's new accounting oversight board, today of making "false and misleading statements" last week about what he knew of the financial problems of a company whose audit committee he headed.
