Big four accounting firm Ernst & young has been accused of signing off on audits without putting together the evidence to support its opinion.

A Public Company Accounting Oversight Board report found faults in eight E&Y audits.

In its defence, E&Y stood by its work although it did acknowledge it had agreed in response to the PCAOB findings to pull its finger out and do some extra work. But in the end, it stuck to the way it had signed off on the accounts. Its letter is attached to the report.

"Although we do not always agree with the characterization in the Report of the work we performed or the related audit documentation, in some instances we did agree to perform certain additional procedures or improve aspects of our audit documentation in response to the inspection. In no instance did these actions change our original audit conclusions or affect our reports on the issuers' financial statements."

But then, they would say that. And indeed, some of the findings are alarming because it's Audit 101.

In one case, for instance, the PCAOB said Ernst & Young didn't identify one client's departure from generally accepted accounting principles with regard to lease abandonment liability. The report also faulted the way E&Y handled the client's self-insurance reserve and severance payments to former executives.

And there's more. Despite E&Y's assurances, the findings can leave you feeling uneasy about auditors.