November 2012 archive

HP to take legal action over its bold multi-billion dollar fraud allegation

In connection with its quarterly earnings release and a related $8.8 billion write-down, Hewlett-Packard claimed that it was misled by hidden “serious accounting improprieties” involving its $11.1 billion purchase of formerly-public company Autonomy. The Autonomy acquisition closed October 2011, under the watch of former HP CEO Leo Apotheker. Apotheker’s reign was short-lived (11 months), and …

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HP claims $5 billion of overpayment was due to fraudulent financial reporting

HP is going to take an $8.8 billion write-down related to its $11.1 billion acquisition of British company Autonomy Corporation PLC in October 2011.  HP asserts that much of the write down (approximately $5 billion) is required because of accounting irregularities, allegedly fraud, contained in the financials statements relied upon in association with the purchase. Among …

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NY Appellate Court reviews the basics in allowing expert testimony

Courts are becoming more assertive in not allowing experts to testify. Because of the success obtained when an expert can be thrown out, filings to eliminate the other side’s expert(s) are become de rigueur. This article summarizes a study on this point. A New York court in re: Wathne Imports, Ltd. v PRL USA, Inc. …

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Business Interruption Insurance Reminders for Hurricane Sandy

Any insurance claim must start with a specific review of your policy. Nevertheless, the following items may be of particular interest in business interruption claims associated with Hurricane Sandy:           Check your policy for whether you have coverage for storm-related flooding. Many policies contain an exclusion for floods, unless you purchased …

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Is IRS Whistleblower the New Caped Crusader?

He strikes again. The IRS whistleblower known only as “Mr. ABC” has claimed his third payout for assistance in bringing down tax cheats.  Mr. ABC has been critical of the government’s ability to identify and investigate sophisticated tax shelters.  Whether motivated by a sense of justice or the pursuit of yet another seven figure reward, …

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Conflicting Rulings about SOX’s Scope Cause Private Company Employees to Stay with DOL Adjudication

The Administrative Review Board (ARB) for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a decision regarding the scope of the whistleblower protections under Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). In Spinner vs. David Landau and Associates, SOX’s whistleblower protections were extended to employees of contractors of publicly-traded companies. The ARB specifically mentioned its disagreement with …

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More private companies are voluntarily adopting improved corporate governance practices

An October 2012 PWC study indicates large private companies see widespread benefit to public company corporate governance processes. PWC surveyed 221 CEOs and CFOs from companies who were spit approximately evenly from service and product companies. The companies had average revenues of $307 million. 80% of these private companies are adopting specific corporate governance practices, …

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