The problem of audit judgments signalling problems at some of the country's biggest companies has not been as bad as feared, research by two of the top accountancy firms has revealed. It was warned last year that the recession and lack of funding could have led to a number of 'emphasis of matter' paragraphs in audit reports, raising doubts as to whether a company could continue as a going concern. But only two companies in the FTSE 250 have included the paragraphs, and none from the FTSE 100, the Financial Times reports. Andrew Ratcliffe, senior audit partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: 'There are fewer than the industry expected and certainly fewer than I did.' Auditors have said the lack of red flags was presumably down to managers' and directors' awareness of the issue.