[Info-vax] Former CFO of Autonomy Charged with Fraud

[johnwallace4 at yahoo.co.uk]

On Wednesday, 16 November 2016 03:55:04 UTC, Kerry Main  wrote:
> This may be of interest to those who followed the HP acquisition
> of Autonomy for $11B and then within a year were subsequently
> forced to write off $8B
> http://www.eweek.com/enterprise-apps/ex-autonomy-cfo-is-indicted-
> for-fraud.html
> 
> "The former chief financial officer of British software giant
> Autonomy was indicted in San Francisco late last week on charges
> that he and other executives knowingly lied about the value of
> their company, which HP bought in 2011 for $11.7 billion.
> 
> The acquisition was a costly mistake, with HP writing down $8.8
> billion in the deal's value within a year. The deal, and its
> aftermath, led to the ouster of short-lived HP CEO Leo Apotheker
> and sparked a number of lawsuits and countersuits."
> 
> (how does one write off $8B anyway?)
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Kerry Main
> Kerry dot main at starkgaming dot com

Those interested in this kind of thing might find some of
these interesting:
An interesting 2012 blog article from an outside observer claiming inside knowledge of Autonomy's business and accounting practices, such as getting slightly confused between hardware sales and software sales:
http://uneasyempires.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/autonomy-on-trial-what-i-saw-in.html

A couple of unrelated articles on the value of honest and trustworthy bookkeepers:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financial-crime/11509993/HP-in-talks-with-Deloitte-over-Autonomy-auditing-claims.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/11/10/deloitte-hit-with-record-4m-accounting-fine-over-aero-inventory/