Maine biotech company drops Arthur Andersen

WESTBROOK – Biotechnology company Idexx Laboratories has fired Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm under federal indictment for destroying Enron Corp. documents, as its auditor.

Idexx, which develops animal health products, downplayed the link between Andersen’s legal problems and its decision to drop the firm.

The company began its annual assessment of its auditing services before the story of shredding at Enron burst into the headlines in January, said Betsy Perry, Idexx’s director of investor relations.

The company sought proposals from all of the so-called Big 5 accounting firms and chose PricewaterhouseCoopers, she said.

Though Andersen’s involvement with Enron was public knowledge by the time Idexx’s board of directors hired PricewaterhouseCoopers, Perry said the link was not a prime factor in the decision.

Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for Andersen in Chicago, said the firm is gratified that thousands of clients have stuck with the company.

Idexx did not release the value of the auditing contract. But reviewing the books of a company as large as Idexx, which had revenues of $367.4 million in 2001, is a large job that takes a team of accountants working full time weeks to finish.