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August 17, 2007

business

Dell admits financial impropriety

Posted Aug. 17, ’07, 8:14 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Business

DellWhile the noise over Apple’s stock options scandal has largely subsided, it appears that they weren’t the only company to be encountering, erm, financial irregularities. Everybody’s favorite PC maker, Dell, has admitted to having consistently falsified their quarterly returns between 2003 and 2006.

The result? To outsiders, it may have appeared as though Dell was meeting its sales targets with healthy earnings to boot, when in fact, the reality was not so rosy. Dell will be restating its earnings for the period by $50 million, which will vary over the quarters affected, from as high as 10-13% in the first quarter of 2003 and second quarter of 2004 to 5% or less in other quarters.

The SEC is currently investigating as well, and though the implication is that “senior management” was involved, no names have been named. Dell’s CFO, Donald J. Carty, remained mum, but said that Dell’s management and board were “comfortable we have taken steps necessary to make sure this never happens at Dell again.”

In related news, Hewlett Packard’s third quarter net income is up 29%, or, in other words: Dude, you’re getting an HP.

[via Engadget]


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