Just like you never want to hear a doctor say "oops" in the operating room, you never want to see a going-concern statement in a financial report about a company you own. Accountants throw these in when they've been over the books, talked to customers, and checked the horoscopes and have concluded there is "substantial doubt" about a company's ability to remain in business. In short, don't blame the accountants if the company files for bankruptcy protection.

You¿d reckon that a going-concern statement would be enough to send investors running to the exits, but it's not. True, many large institutions automatically bail when an existing company gets slapped with one of these, but many individuals (often wrongly) take a chance they know more than the bean counters.

During the tech boom of the late 1990s, many companies actually went public even though they had been hit with going-concern statements. Many of those companies subsequently disappeared. Enough said.

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Wednesday, July 02, 2008

MoneyGram Announces Program to Protect Consumers Against Fraud

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MINNEAPOLIS, Jul 02, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----MoneyGram International is adding to its existing efforts to protect consumers from fraud-induced money transfers in response to concerns from state Attorneys General. Through an agreement of voluntary compliance, MoneyGram is taking steps to enhance consumer protections and further address the problem of wire transfer fraud. The company and 44 states plus the District of Columbia are cooperating on a five-year plan to raise public awareness of the dangers of fraud through a variety of tactics including enhanced consumer education, more prominent fraud warnings for money transfer customers and enhanced training for agents.

Besides enhancing its own education efforts, MoneyGram will contribute $1.1 million to the AARP Foundation for Consumer Education to fund a fraud awareness program aimed at the elderly, who are often targets for fraud. This program is expected to get underway in the next three to six months.

"We are very pleased to help launch this program," said Tony Ryan, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of MoneyGram International. "We are committed to helping to stop fraud and protect consumers, and we know that this is an issue that none of us can tackle alone."

"AARP Foundation's fight against consumer fraud advances AARP's goal of ensuring the economic security of people 50 and over," said AARP Foundation President Robin Talbert. "Preventing consumer fraud and abuse are critical components of financial security. AARP, the AARP Foundation and hundreds of community volunteers have been fighting fraud directed at older consumers for more than 10 years. We are very proud of our outreach and education."

MoneyGram will also pay $150,000 to the Attorneys General Executive Committee to cover costs.

MoneyGram International, Inc. is a leading global payment services company. The company's major product and services include global money transfers, money orders and payment processing solutions for financial institutions and retail customers. MoneyGram has 152,000 global money transfer locations in 180 countries and territories. For more information, visit the company's website at www.moneygram.com.

SOURCE: MoneyGram International

MoneyGram International
   Michael Fox, 203-682-8218 mfox@icrinc.com

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