'All I can say is that we have extended an invitation to those folks to visit us and see our advanced technology,' GM Chief Financial Officer Ray Young told The Detroit News today. Young, who met with Obama's autos task force in Washington, D.C., last week, said GM is in daily contact with the advisers. But GM, which is operating thanks to $13.4 billion in federal loans, has yet to receive word from the U.S. Treasury Department on its request for up to $16.6 billion in additional aid. 'We haven't received any commitment,' Young said. 'We are going to continue to work with Treasury and work through all the details.' News of the meeting comes as GM disclosed in its annual report today that there is 'substantial doubt' about the company's viability and that bankruptcy is possible unless the automaker can implement a broad restructuring plan, according to a regulatory filing today. An independent audit done by GM's accounting firm found 'our recurring losses from operations, stockholders' deficit and inability to generate sufficient cash flow to meet our obligations and sustain our operations raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern,' GM wrote in its annual report filed this morning. At the White House, where officials have less than a month to decide whether and how to aid GM further, the finding had been expected, and the administration said it was fully aware of what was at stake in its deliberations over additional aid. 'I don't think it comes as a surprise to many that the auto industry is in crisis,' White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday, noting that sales figures released this week showed a severe downturn not just for GM and Chrysler, but for foreign companies as well. Reiterating a commitment President Barack Obama has made several times, Gibbs said, 'I don't think there's any doubt we need a strong auto industry in this country.' There appeared to be somewhat less patience on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Thursday that she supports a strong manufacturing sector. 'But this isn't endless,' she said. 'And there has to be a sign of viability and it has to come soon.' The White House task force on the industry met Thursday morning with Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne, whose company is seeking a partnership with Chrysler, and was scheduled to sit down in the afternoon with representatives of a group of GM bondholders. The annual report filed today says GM's ability to survive largely hinges on a rebound in vehicle sales. U.S. vehicle sales have fallen 40 percent from the peak in 2007 and global sales have fallen 23.5 percent since January 2008. The auditor's opinion 'is dependent on a number of factors including our ability to execute our viability plan, compliance with our U.S. Treasury loans, volume recovery of the industry, and access to additional funding from the U.S. and certain other governments,' GM spokeswoman Renee Rashid-Merem said in a prepared statement today. 'Once global automotive sales recover and GM's restructuring actions generate the anticipated savings and benefits, the company is expected to again be able to fund its own operating requirements.' GM, which reported Tuesday that last month's sales fell 53 percent, expects sales to decline more this year before starting to recover in 2010. 'Sales volumes may decline more severely or take longer to recover than we expect, however, and if they do, our results of operations and financial condition and the success of the viability plan will be materially adversely affected,' GM wrote in the filing. GM shares fell 39 cents, or 17.7 percent, to $1.81 this afternoon in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The annual report also showed GM cut the total compensation of chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner last year to $5.5 million, down from $14.1 million the previous year. Wagoner, who is taking a $1 salary this year, received a $2.1 million salary last year and was not paid a bonus, according to the filing. President and Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson, meanwhile, was paid $1.7 million last year, a 76 percent pay cut. The auditors' conclusion was not unexpected. GM signaled last week that it would receive a 'going concern' opinion from auditing firm Deloitte & Touche LLP, which was paid $38 million to audit GM's annual consolidated financial statements and provide other services. The public, suppliers and people tied to the auto industry should not overreact, though, because the federal loans, Obama's economic-stimulus package and the automakers' restructuring plans will help salvage the industry, said Kimberly Rodriguez of the restructuring firm Grant Thornton LLP. GM has assessed and rejected the option of filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying it would further hurt sales. The automaker also said it would need as much as $100 billion in government aid to operate after filing bankruptcy. The automaker had to secure amendments and waivers from key lenders last year because there was substantial doubt about GM's viability. The waivers kept GM from violating debt agreements, but the company will need additional waivers if auditors come up with a similar conclusion this year. GM listed a number of risk factors that could affect the company's operations and financial condition. Those include extracting concessions from the United Auto Workers and bondholders. GM has until March 31 to make progress on concessions with the UAW and bondholders, two key parties that hold power to help the struggling automaker restructure and become a viable company. Terms of the $17.4 billion loan package that is keeping GM and Chrysler LLC afloat during a slumping sales market require GM to restructure payments into a UAW-run retiree health care trust and to cut the automaker's unsecured public debt by two-thirds to $9.2 billion. The filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission comes hours ahead of a meeting in Washington, D.C., between bondholders and President Obama's autos task force, which is overseeing restructuring of GM and Chrysler LLC, which also received loans. 'It helps draw things into sharper focus as some of these conversations are taking hold,' said Laura Marcero, partner of corporate advisory and restructuring services for restructuring firm Grant Thornton LLP. 'It really allows GM to bring everybody to the table with a renewed focus on getting those concessions.' The Detroit automaker almost ran out of money in December before winning commitments of up to $13.4 billion in federal loans. GM said last week it needs up to $16.6 billion more to survive the weakest sales market since the early 1980s, including $2 billion this month to avoid bankruptcy. GM ended the year with $14 billion in cash, securities and readily available assets -- about $3 billion more than the minimum amount it needs to pay bills. The automaker, which has lost about $82 billion in recent years, is implementing a broad cost-cutting plan aimed at becoming a viable company and repaying the federal loans. GM is eliminating 47,000 jobs this year, shuttering 14 plants by 2012 and selling, shrinking or killing its Saturn, Hummer, Pontiac and Saab brands. Saab filed for reorganization last Friday in the Swedish equivalent of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. GM also is forcing most of its U.S. salaried workers to accept temporary pay cuts.