Audit Integrity Issues List of Companies Most Likely to Be Sued in 2009

Audit Integrity Issues List of Companies Most Likely to Be Sued in 2009 - 3/5/2009

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Audit Integrity Issues List of Companies Most Likely to Be Sued in 2009, Number Of Companies With High Likelihood Of Shareholder Class Action Lawsuits Is Unprecedented
Staff Writer

Business Wire. March 5, 2009
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EXCERPT: Audit Integrity, a leading independent financial research firm, announced today a list of companies that have a high probability of shareholder litigation in 2009. Using their AGR Litigation Model, the most widely used and accepted litigation model in the insurance industry, Audit Integrity highlighted companies with the highest twelve-month litigation probability among the more than 7,500 publicly traded companies they rate in North America. Included in Audit Integrity’s announcement were results from evaluating shareholder litigation cases in 2008. Consistent with the past several years of tracking litigation risk, Audit Integrity’s Litigation Model effectively identified companies at risk through analysis of corporate accounting and governance practices. The lowest rated 10% of companies accounted for nearly 60% of litigation cases, while the best 20% did not have a single shareholder lawsuit filed against them. For 2009, the sectors most at risk include healthcare, services and technology. Among the more than 60 companies with the highest probability of shareholder class action lawsuits are: * MetLife, Inc. * Medtronic, Inc. * Spectra Energy Corp. * Hewlett-Packard Company * Walgreen Company “When companies take on added risk through accounting gimmickry or questionable management actions, shareholders will eventually pay the price,” says Jack Zwingli, CEO of Audit Integrity. “Companies would be well advised to reduce their risk of litigation through better accounting and governance practices because insurers, auditors and others evaluating corporate risk rely on this data to identify their own exposure and price services accordingly.”

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