Revelations of possible accounting control and compliance issues have awoken fears of another Enron/Parmalat style scandal and saw investors wipe $32 billion off the company's value overnight.

Currently Adecco's US operations are the focus of the investigations although the company admitted it was looking into the accounting practices of its offices in several other countries, without identifying those involved.

Adecco Australia, which has more than 50 offices Australia-wide, said that it not received any additional information about the investigation and the potential ramifications. The firm has a strong profile in the oil and gas sector.