Wave Systems Corp. (fka WAVXQ)

[SPIN]

GKS - you sound sorta defensive...

i'd like to think that "all views are welcomed" here & one needn't hold the stock to post an opinion. i've posted that wavx might be worth buying but only after the SEC clears them of any wrongdoing. If they are exonerated, Zen's prediction would apply, if there are indictments, etc., it would not apply.

is it okay to not drink from the kool aid river & still have an interest in Wave's prospects?

might there be others who view the sitchy similarly as me & wanna stay apprised of all things Wave, good and bad?

am i wrong s'up?

Reuters
Symbol Tech CEO Resigns Due to Scandal
Tuesday December 30, 4:21 pm ET
By Wei Gu

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bar code computer maker Symbol Technologies Inc. (NYSE:SBL - News) said on Tuesday its Chief Executive and Acting Chairman Richard Bravman resigned after only 17 months on the job due to his role in an accounting scandal.

Symbol said that Bravman, a 25-year veteran of the company, had been involved in a 2001 transaction that involved early revenue recognition of $860,000.

The Holtsville, New York-based company said Bravman stepped down because he believed it would help Symbol resolve the investigations by the SEC and the U.S. Attorney's office. The company previously has said those probes focused on revenue accounting from 1998 and the first nine months of 2002.

"When I learned that my connection to this transaction might influence the outcome of the government's investigation of Symbol, I realized that this is the right thing to do," Bravman said in the company's statement.

Symbol has been under investigation for its accounting by the Securities and Exchange Commission (News - Websites) since August 2002, one month after Bravman took the reigns from company founder Jerome Swartz in July 2002. Symbol said it named President William Nuti to replace Bravman as chief executive.

Symbol, which said an internal probe had found widespread accounting irregularities, also restated earnings for 1998 to 2001 and said it had filed its 2002 annual report after delaying it twice.

Analysts said the filing of the much delayed annual report lifted one of the clouds over the company, sending its shares up about 2 percent to a two-year high.

After adjusting revenue and expenses, Symbol posted a net loss in each year from 1998 to 2002, Chief Financial Officer Mark Greenquist told Reuters. Symbol previously reported profits in 1998 and 1999 and losses in 2000 and 2001.

Symbol, which also provides mobile computing technology, took a $98 million charge in 2002 for shareholder lawsuits stemming from the accounting scandal and other litigation, bringing its annual loss to $57 million, or 25 cents a share.

"The (internal) investigation at this point of time is over with the exception of certain former Symbol associates," Nuti, who was hired from Cisco Systems Inc. (NasdaqNM:CSCO - News) last year, told Reuters. "I am sure the government will follow up on those."

Symbol said in its annual report that 10 or more former employees have received a so-called Wells Notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is a formal notice that the SEC will recommend civil charges be brought. Symbol said Bravman, who will remain with the company as an advisor for a year, did not receive the notice.

It also named board member Salvatore Iannuzzi as nonexecutive chairman.

The company said in its annual report it discovered widespread accounting errors and irregularities related to the timing and amount of revenue recognized.

For example, it had recognized revenue without documented contracts, after it had shipped items but before they reached the customer, and without regard for later changes in the price of goods or services.

Symbol also said its inventory accounting was inaccurate, that it recorded patents costs incorrectly and that it had mishandled exercises on stock options.

Bravman's departure comes after a string of management changes this year, including the July resignations of Swartz and former general counsel Leonard H. Goldner. Among 16 senior executives, only the human resources chief and the research and development head have not changed in the last year.

Two former Symbol executives have pleaded guilty to securities fraud - Robert Asti, former vice president for North America Sales, and Robert Korkuc, former chief accounting officer.

Symbol said accounting changes reduced net income from 1998 to the third quarter of 2002 by a total of $324.7 million. Revenue was cut by $234.2 million for the period.

As of Sept. 30, 2002, its restated stockholders' equity was $946 million, down from the $1.171 billion reported earlier.

Symbol said it would file quarterly financial statements for the first nine months of 2003 with the SEC within the next few weeks.

Its shares advanced 38 cents, or 2.26 percent, to close at $17.23 on the New York Stock Exchange (News - Websites).

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/031230/tech_symbol_3.html