Chairman of computer maker Dell Inc, Michael Dell
August 17, 2007 – Computer maker Dell will reduce more than four years’ worth of earnings by up to $US150 million ($A183.52 million) after an internal probe found the company misled its auditors and manipulated results to meet performance goals.
The struggling company said today that its net income for the restatement period will be reduced by between $US50 million and $US150 million ($A61.17 million and $A183.52 million), or two cents to seven cents a share. The largest reductions in quarterly profits were expected to be in the first quarter of fiscal 2003 and the second quarter of fiscal 2004, each lowered between 10 per cent and 13 per cent. Dell will restate all of fiscal 2003 through 2006 and the first quarter of fiscal 2007.
The investigation, which began in August 2006 and evaluated more than five million documents, “identified evidence that certain adjustments appear to have been motivated by the objective of attaining financial targets,” Dell said. Round Rock-based Dell added that unspecified terminations, reassignments, reprimands, increased supervision, training and financial penalties either have or will be taken as a result.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation into some of Dell’s accounting and financial reporting practices is ongoing, the company said.
| Why can’t corporations do things the right way. You think GREED maybe? |
hey, it’s okay. Companies are allowed to steal from ordinary people (shareholders). If they’re caught… no so what?
F**k them and everyone like them. Everyone involved should spend 5 years in jail for starters.
That company has really fallen since the days of PC’s Limited in the eighties. Now the they’re just another Google/Microsoft/SCO, trying to get rich through less-than-reputable business practices.
Shame on you, Michael Saul.
If I were Michael Dell I’d Close dell’s doors and give back the investors money….
Hey, John C – What did you say you called that Act by Congress?
Shame…
Since the HP/Compaq merger, HP has surpassed Dell as my vendor of choice. The HP notebooks and servers are the old Compaq lines, far and away better than Dell’s models. Their desktops have merged the best of HP and Compaq to produce VERY nice machines.
Of course, HP owns the printer (inkjet and laser) market, although Canon and Xerox printers are comparable or better. Dell foolishly tried to compete in the printer market, whoever made that decision should walked out. Even the HP hand-helds are sweet little machines.
No, I don’t work for HP – but I’m job-hunting… send me an email, HP!
-Scott
P.S. Has anybody noticed that Dell PCs have taken on a sort of cheap feel over the past year or so?
I use a Dimension 5150 at work, (uh, where I’m at right now, sshhh), and the keyboard is pretty well just that: a keyboard, about as stripped as they come. But we bought two at the same time sometime last year, and except for one that refused to shed some bundled security software there’s not been any sort of a problem.
Obviously Sarbanes Oxley is stopping all this reporting abuse dead in its tracks. Heh. But also, companies cook the books because if you show one bad quarter, the market punishes you very quickly. No one has patience when it comes to their investments. Go private and be done with it!
Wars are stated when leadersstart to believe the lies that journalists were told to write
No difference here on top floors
Dell has caused lot of trouble in the non major computer industry in attempt to gain or maintain market share
You can only subsidize to keep numbers up for some long
The chickens have come home to roost.
It is like the american car industry – when you see old grandmothers ( the type who used to drive ramblers) driving toyota corollas or honda civics you now no matter what the big three us car makers tell you – that they have lost major market share
I’d still buy Dell stock before Apple stock
Buy all the Dell stock you want. My Apple stock is up over 200% from the time which I bought it a few years back. Buy Dell stock and lose your fortune…. ChrisMac… buy tons of it.