Reports on the PCAOB's inspection of Ernst & Young LLP, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and BDO Seidman LLP, issued Thursday, said the inspection team identified matters it considered to be audit deficiencies.

In the reports, the PCOAB said those deficiencies included failures by the firm "to identify and appropriately address errors in the issuer's application of GAAP (or generally accepted accounting principles)," and that one or more of those errors was "likely to be material to the firms' financial statement."

In all three reports, the PCAOB said "the deficiencies also included failures by the firm to perform, or to perform sufficiently, certain necessary audit process."

The three reports, which can be viewed on the PCAOB's Web site, www.pcaobus.org, provide details of specific cases, without mentioning the audited entities by name.

The three accounting firms made comments in letters affixed to the reports. Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers said they are taking actions to address the reports.

BDO Seidman said, in part, that the inspection team "applied extremely rigorous standards in the engagement reviews," and that it believes such an approach is effective in encouraging audit firms to boost performance to "implementation of best practices."