Audit committee finds deficiency in internal controls at EchoStar

03/17/05 - newratings.com

NEW YORK, March 17 (newratings.com) – Satellite TV broadcaster Echostar Communications (DISH) Wednesday disclosed in a regulatory filing that its internal audit committee has discovered significant deficiencies in the company’s internal controls over financial reporting.

The Douglas County-based satellite TV provider said that it will not restate its previous earnings statements and has taken steps to rectify the procedures. An internal review by EchoStar Communications’ audit committee found that one of its executive officers had directed the preparation, in prior years, of inaccurate documentation that was used to determine payments made to a vendor. The filing said that auditors inside and outside the company believe that the changes being introduced by the company meet the accounting standards. Echostar Communications also mentioned in the filing that a federal lawsuit filed against the company and its executives, alleging violations of securities laws and "massive" insider trading, has been withdrawn. The company’s fourth quarter income rose sharply to $0.15 per share from $0.01 per share in the year-ago period.