英Autonomy社の不正会計問題が再燃（ｅｃｏｎｏｍｉａより）

HP brands Autonomy claims “ridiculous”

米国のＨＰ社が、買収先の英国Autonomy社で隠されていた不正会計により巨額の評価減を行い、大きな会計スキャンダルとなっている問題が再燃しているという記事。

ＨＰ社は2011年にAutonomy社を67億ポンドで買収しましたが、2012年になって、Autonomy社の旧経営陣が会計不正を行っていたことが発覚しました。ＨＰ社はAutonomy社が自社の財務状況についてだましていたとして、50億ドルの評価減を行いました。

今週になって、Autonomy社とMicroTechnologiesという会社が共謀して売上を水増ししていたと指摘する米国空軍の文書をWashington Post紙が報じたことがきっかけとなって、ＨＰ社とAutonomy社旧経営陣の間の非難合戦が再発したようです。

Yesterday the computer giant branded the latest claims from Autonomy founder Mike Lynch as “patently ridiculous” as the war of words between the two parties rumbled on. Lynch said the allegations of fraud against him and his team of directors were based on HP confusion over the difference between US GAAP and IFRS accounting rules.

Autonomy, which was bought by HP for £6.7bn in October 2011, became the centre of an international accounting scandal in November 2012, when HP accused the former management of “accounting improprieties”. HP claimed the firm had misled them about its financial health, which led it to make a $5bn write off.

The ongoing scandal came to the fore again this week when the Washington Post published a US Air Force memo which alleged an American contractor, MicroTechnologies, colluded with Autonomy to inflate revenues. According to the report, the software developer is now in danger of being barred from government contracts. It claims Autonomy and MicroTechnologies booked sales deals worth over $10m when only $500,000 changed hands – with the purpose of artificially boosting revenue figures.

Autonomy社旧経営陣側は、Washington Post紙の報道内容を否定するとともに、ＨＰ社の評価減は、米国会計基準とＩＦＲＳの差異に関するＨＰ社側の誤解に基づくものであるという声明文をウェブサイトに掲載しましたが、それに対してＨＰ社側も反論しているようです。

In a statement posted on his website Lynch strongly rejected the allegations made by the Washington Post, saying they were "false", and reiterated his previous stance that the HP claims were due to an accounting “misunderstanding”.

"We strongly reject HP’s allegations," he wrote in the statement. "The few examples seen to date in support of its allegations, such as those cited in the USAF letter, show that HP appears to have had a fundamental misunderstanding of IFRS accounting practices, and we vehemently deny anything improper."

この会計不正事件は、4大会計事務所がみんな関与しているという点でも注目されています。

The HP/Autonomy deal directly or indirectly involved all of the Big Four, with KPMG brought in to conduct diligence on Autonomy after Deloitte signed off its audit of the UK company in 2010. Later PwC was brought in to carry out the report into the takeover, while Ernst & Young audit HP.