|
Symantec launched the "whistleblower" investigation in May after
a former employee raised "concerns" about some accounting
practices, prompting the company's board to hire an independent
counsel and other advisers to assist in the probe.
The audit committee identified certain behavior inconsistent
with the company's code of conduct, and Symantec said it would
take 'appropriate action' in these matters, without specifying
details.
The company said the committee reviewed a transaction with a
customer for which $13 million was recognized as revenue in the
fourth quarter of 2018, and concluded that $12 million of the
$13 million should be deferred.
Disclosure of the probe, and the decline in Symantec's stock
price, put the company on the radar of activist investors.
Starboard Value LP, a hedge fund with a history of buying stake
in poorly performing companies, in August bought a 5.8 percent
stake in Symantec. Earlier this month, Symantec named three
nominees of Starboard to its board. [L3N1W34UX]
Symantec has also suffered from weak revenue growth in its
enterprise security business. In August it disclosed that it
would lay off about 1,000 employees, or 8 percent of its
workforce.
The previously announced financial results for fourth quarter
and the first quarter of 2019 will be revised to take into
account the deferral and any other financial adjustments
required as a result of the revision, the company said.
Symantec said it would adopt the audit committee's proposal to
appoint a chief accounting officer, and a separate chief
compliance officer reporting to the committee.
(Reporting by Angela Moon in New York and Munsif Vengattil in
Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
