I work in the industry and think it’s important to note that the auditors operated under existing rules and GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).

According to Compliance Week, “companies were still following Financial Accounting Standard No. 140, Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets, to decide when an asset transfer qualified as a sale (that could be kept off the balance sheet) or when it had to be treated as a financing (that remained on)….That rule has since been codified into the Accounting Standards Codification under ASC 860-10.”