Near the end of the 1996 audit, Deloitte & Touche, LLP, the U.S.-based branch of the firm, initially refused to allow its Canadian affiliate to issue an unqualified audit opinion of Livent’s financial statement filed with the SEC. Deloitte’s top technical partners in the United States believed that Livent had been much too aggressive in recognizing revenue on a few large transactions-transactions that, unknown to partners of both the firm’s Canadian and U.S.affiliates, included fraudulent elements. After a series of meetings between Livent officials and representatives of Deloitte & Touche, LLP, a compromise was reached. Livent agreed to defer the recognition of revenue on one of the two large transactions in question until 1997. In return, Deloitte allowed the company to record the full amount of the revenue for the other disputed transaction.