05 Jan 14. Autonomy beset by revenues allegation. Autonomy, the UK software company at the centre of massive fraud allegations, booked revenues from uncompleted transactions at the end of a number of quarters to meet sales targets, according to claims levelled in a document from the US Air Force. The accusations, made against Autonomy founder Mike Lynch and five other former executives, contain the first details of the alleged accounting irregularities that US computer group Hewlett-Packard has said forced it to take an $8.8bn write-off in 2012, a year after buying the UK company. Also named in the letter are two US government contractors, MicroTech and Capax Global, that acted as resellers of Autonomy’s software and played a role in the disputed transactions. A representative for Mr Lynch responded that Autonomy’s accounting had been in compliance with international accounting standards.
“We strongly reject HP’s allegations,” a spokesperson for Mr Lynch’s private investment firm said. “The few examples seen to date show that HP appears to have had a fundamental misunderstanding of [international] accounting practices, and we vehemently deny anything improper.”
MicroTech did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Capax could not be contacted. The Air Force document, a copy of which was seen by the Financial Times, lays out a case for barring the contractors and former Autonomy executives from undertaking work for any part of the US federal government, based on what it says are findings from HP’s own internal investigation into Autonomy. The allegations detail three transactions that had not been completed when Autonomy recorded revenues on them. One of the deals later fell through, while another was completed for less than the amount Autonomy recorded. Mr Lynch’s representatives have argued that the international accounting rules under which the UK company operated required it to recognise sales to resellers when they occurred, even if no sale had been made to the ultimate customer. (Source: FT.com)
07 Jan 14. Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) revealed the name of the electronic measurement company it expects to spin off in early November 2014 as Keysight Technologies. The name Keysight conveys the ability to see what others cannot, offering the critical or key insights to understand and unlock the changing technology landscape. The new company’s tagline, “unlocking measurement insights for 75 years,” commemorates the 1939 birth of the original Hewlett-Packard Company, from which Keysight originated. (Source: Yahoo!/BUSINESS WIRE)
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