It says that the auditor does not express an opinion on the financial statements and supplemental schedules, but that the auditor does provide some assurance that the form and content of information included in statements and schedules comply with the Department of Labor rules and regulations.
Scavone starts with daily reports on companies that have reported troubling events, from missing analysts' earnings estimates, to reporting higher inventories, to receiving an auditor's adverse opinion.
There was also no requirement for the auditor to give its opinion on whether the bank had fully corrected the material weakness in internal controls related to the valuation process until 2012 year-end.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is, and still is, the financial, statutory auditor - with the duty to give an opinion on financial statement verity - of some of the biggest players in the financial crisis.