AIG seeks to clear the air with restatements.

American International Group Inc.'s management is hoping the filing of its much-anticipated 10-K report will clear the air with one big blast that overhauls questionable accounting for the past five years, allowing the group to get on with its businesses.

Equity analysts seemed to agree this largely was accomplished, though lawyers representing AIG's ousted chairman and chief executive officer, Maurice R. Greenberg, are inclined to challenge some of those restatement decisions.

The 10-K filing, which had been postponed three times as AIG raced to complete an internal review of many of its transactions over the past five years, knocked $2.27 billion off its 2004 consolidated shareholders equity as a result of a series of restatements.

Following the internal review, AIG said it reduced unaudited consolidated shareholders equity at year end 2004 by 2.7%, or $2.27 billion, to $80.61 billion. The change in shareholders equity includes an after-tax reduction of $1.19 billion for changes in estimates for the fourth quarter of 2004.

Net income for 2004 was reduced by 11.9%, or $1.32 billion, from the figure announced in early February. Net income for the year now stands at $9.73 billion. Originally, AIG said net income for 2004 rose 19.1% to $11.05 billion, or $4.19 a share, from $9.27 billion, or $3.52 a share, in 2003.

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