UPDATE: Report on Fannie Mae Blames Accounting for Troubles

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WASHINGTON, DC-”Grossly inadequate” internal accounting procedures put in place by now ousted executives that led to Fannie Mae’s $11 billion restatement of earnings, an official external study has concluded. The nearly 2,700-page Report to the Special Review Committee of the Board of Directors of Fannie Mae–spearheaded by one-time Sen. Warren Rudman and the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison–was based upon a nearly 18-month investigation. For previous GlobeSt.com coverage, click here.

The report finds that Fannie Mae former chief financial officer Timothy Howard and former controller Leanne Spencer instituted negligent accounting practices leading back to 2001. In 2004, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight raised a series of questions about Fannie Mae’s accounting and internal governance in its own investigation.