Law.com Article on Apple Stock Options Backdating Probe Law.com - Apple Execs, Former GC Seek Counsel in Face of Backdating Probe

I was not previously aware of this particular connotation of the word “irregularities”. This is starting to sound Not Good.

As for Apple, deeper trouble could be signified by its use of the term “irregularities” to describe what initial inquiries into grant practices had found. That term was used again in the announcement earlier this month indicating that options problems were bad enough to require a restatement of past earnings.

Several Silicon Valley defense lawyers — all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they have ties either to Apple or to other backdating cases — said that in accounting parlance, “irregularities” generally indicates a problem that’s not accidental.

★ Friday, 11 August 2006