S&P: Geo Group unaffected

Standard & Poor's said that The GEO Group Inc.'s (B+/stable/--) announcement that it will delay filing of its form 10-K until about April 4 does not affect the company's ratings or outlook at this time.

The company disclosed that it needs additional time to complete its audit and its assessment related to its internal controls over financial reporting as required by Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404.

This follows GEO's prior disclosure on Feb. 8 of a material weakness in its internal controls that will result in the restatement of its 2003 and 2002 financial statements to correct an accounting error related to accruals for vacation expenses. However, the amount is not material ($3.2 million) and GEO has implemented new controls to address this weakness, which will fully remediate the material weakness.

While these issues do not currently affect the ratings, the ratings could be negatively affected if there are any additional problems beyond those already disclosed, S&P said.

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