Always, always, always, call the auditor who prepared the statements to determine whether you have real statements. We just did this on our “Invisible Children” post … and they were delighted to talk to us! (P.S. They said good things about Invisible Children)
Also check with the State Board of Accountancy look-up to see if they really have a license. It’s easy.
We’ve found auditors who had expired licenses or were not licensed to present audit opinions. I even found a case where the “client” stole CPA letterhead and published his own audit!
This is the perfect example of a complete fake. This SEC press release shows that James Michael Murray invented a fake CPA Firm, with a noble name, Jones, Moore & Associates (JMA). He invented fake CPA’s, and published faked statements. I really wonder how the SEC figured this one out.