Mission West, PwC Spat Leans Toward Lawsuit

CUPERTINO, CA-In response to an SEC filing that asked PricewaterhouseCoopers for an explanation for its mysterious resignation as the REIT’s auditor earlier this month, the accounting firm late last week pushed back hard, saying Mission West’s financial statements for the past three years “should no longer be relied upon.”

On Feb. 2, Mission West revealed that William Croteau of PricewaterhouseCoopers had resigned his post as the company’s independent auditor a week earlier without explanation and without issuing a report on the company’s 2003 financial statement. “This is one of the most bizarre circumstances I have ever been involved in,” said Mission West CEO Carl Berg before announcing the news in a conference call and then assuring listeners that he is “confident our new independent accountant will not propose any material accounting changes.”

Along with the conference call, Mission West filed an 8K with the SEC stating that the company’s consolidated financial statements for the past two fiscal years “contained no adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles” and that during the past two years “there have been no disagreements with PwC on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure.” The filing stated that the company asked PwC to furnish a letter addressed to the SEC stating whether it agrees or disagrees with the statements in its filing within 10 business days. If it did not consent, Berg said legal action was “certainly something that would be considered.”