Dell admits accounting misconduct

TIN MAN Dell has admitted that it cooked its own books in a share accounting scam, but has stopped short of saying what it did.

The outfit has conducted a lengthy investigation of its accounting practices and admitted it found a 'number of accounting errors and deficiencies in the financial-control environment'.

Dell faces federal investigations into its finances and has been struggling to rebound from reversals in the PC business.

According to AP, these investigations were what led to the January departure of CEO Kevin Rollins, rather than the fact that the company was losing market share to HP.

Dell says that it has not finished its investigation and might have to restate its old financial results may be necessary once it has finished its rigorous probing.

According to the Wall Street Journal, most speculation has focused on the way Dell treated revenue from customer warranties.

Apparently Dell may not have been setting aside enough cash to cover potential warranty costs and inflated its earnings in that way. µ