Business Notes ACCOUNTING

Even as S&Ls were teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, their financial health was being certified by accounting firms. As a result, one company is now threatened with loss of its license in California. The state board of accountancy has charged Ernst & Young with negligence in auditing Charles Keating's Lincoln Savings and Loan, whose 1989 collapse could cost taxpayers $2 billion.

The board contends that Arthur Young, which later merged with Ernst & Whinney, improperly allowed the thrift to show a pretax profit in 1987 by violating generally accepted accounting principles. The firm, which severed its ties to Lincoln in 1988, denies this. Possible penalties include loss or suspension of license, or probation. "Audit firms are under pressure to please the client," says deputy attorney general Michael Granen. "They've got to learn to just say no."