AIG, the troubled insurance company, has been unable to publish its accounts because PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the auditor, has not yet signed them off for fear of reprisals under America’s tough new accounting laws.

If PwC signs the accounts and they prove to be incorrect, the firm could be held liable under the Sarbanes-Oxley law passed in America after the collapse of Enron and WorldCom. Arthur Andersen was destroyed by the Enron and WorldCom scandals as the accounting firm signed off on both companies’ books.

PwC’s failure to sign off AIG’s accounts emerged as it became clear that a fresh raft of accounting problems had been uncovered at the group. AIG has found at least $1 billion more in discrepancies than was originally identified. Speculation was rife on Wall Street that the number could increase by a further $1 billion to as much as $8 billion.

The investigations into AIG’s accounts widened further yesterday as New York regulators hired an independent firm of consultants to examine whether as much as $20 million of workers’ compensation insurance was improperly accounted for by the firm. The new inquiry makes it even less likely that PwC will be able to sign off on AIG’s accounts in the near future.

AIG, which is under investigation by federal and state regulatory bodies in America after it admitted incorrectly accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of questionable insurance deals, was supposed to publish its full-year figures by March 16. It has already said that it may have to reduce its net worth by $1.7 billion.

Maurice Greenberg, chief executive and chairman, resigned from the company he built over four decades because of his alleged close involvement with some of the questionable insurance deals under investigation.

AIG said it would publish its accounts on or before April 30, but it is unknown whether it will still make the deadline. AIG and PwC both declined to comment.

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