Joining a growing list of peers that already have abandoned the legally ensnared Arthur Andersen LLP, Dynegy Corp., Apache Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Tom Brown Inc. said last week that they were cutting ties with the auditing firm. The announcements by the companies came within days of Arthur Andersen pleading not guilty to obstruction of justice in a Houston court.

The auditor was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month for destroying Enron-related documents and e-mails after it was informed the Securities and Exchange Commission had begun an investigation into the financial activities of the energy trader.

Houston-based Apache reported that it has filed its 2001 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission in addition to beginning a search for a new independent auditing firm for 2002 to replace Arthur Andersen. Dynegy Corp. made a similar announcement earlier in the week that it had decided to leave the embattled auditor in the wake of the Enron scandal.

“Our decision to engage another independent accounting firm is in no way a judgment on Arthur Andersen’s current entanglement with the Enron debacle,” said Raymond Plank, Apache’s CEO. “That is for others to decide. Our experience, based on 47 years of working with Andersen, is that their people have always conducted themselves professionally and with integrity. The devastating impact that this misfortune has had on so many careers and families is regrettable.

“We’ve made this decision because we believe it is in the best interests of our shareholders to move forward now that our 2001 10-K has been filed,” Plank said. “No matter which outside auditor we employ, Apache and its officers, as always, take full responsibility for our numbers and the other information we report.”

Los Angeles-based Occidental also reported Friday that its board of directors has appointed KPMG as the company’s independent auditor for 2002, replacing Arthur Andersen.

“The Andersen team that has served Occidental provided outstanding audit services and met our high standards during the course of a long and highly professional relationship,” said Dr. Ray R. Irani, CEO of Occidental.

Denver-based Tom Brown Inc. said in its 8-K filing on Friday that Arthur Andersen “was dismissed” as independent accountant effective upon completion of its audit of the company’s financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2001. The company also said that KPMG LLP has been appointed as the company’s new independent accountant. The decision to dismiss Andersen and to appoint KPMG was recommended by the Audit Committee of the board of directors and was approved by the board at its meeting on Friday.

Tom Brown pointed out that Andersen’s reports on the company’s financial statements for the two fiscal years ended Dec. 31, 2000 and Dec. 31, 2001, did not contain an “adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion” and were “not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.”

Houston-based Dynegy, at the urging of the company’s Audit Committee, voted on March 15 to defect from the Chicago-based accounting firm, replacing it with PricewaterhouseCoopers, according to an 8-K report filed with the SEC. Like Apache, Dynegy said its decision to switch auditors was not a reflection on the capabilities of Andersen.

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