back to article 'HP has just days to cough what it knew about Autonomy'

HP will have to bare all in its beef with Autonomy's former management before the year is out, a former SEC advisor has suggested. Hewlett-Packard took an $8.8bn write-down last month after alleging accounting errors were made at Brit biz Autonomy in the weeks before HP acquired it for $10.7bn in 2011. In turn Autonomy co- …

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  1. Desktop Mobile
    Holmes

    When smoke gets in your eyes

    Usual scenario:

    1) CEO 1 buys company gets bullet along with others

    2) New CEO goes mental over purchase blames all woes on CEO 1 writes value laundering other debts in process

    3) Old gang take wrap new team look great

    1. CCCP
      Coat

      Re: When smoke gets in your eyes

      With the old gang having eaten all the wraps, of course the new team looks great. Oh, rap....

      I'm going.

    2. kb
      Thumb Up

      Re: When smoke gets in your eyes

      I don't know why anybody would mark you down when one only has to look at the history of HP to know their claims are rubbish. I mean they expect us to swallow a 5.5 BILLION dollar book cooking that just so happened to get by not one but two separate accounting firms? Give me a break!

      But you look at the past 6 years or so of HP and you quickly see a pattern emerge which is pretty much spot on what you listed with one change to #1 which is "CEO buys company FOR SEVERAL TIMES ITS VALUE then gets bullet along with others". Hp has bought companies multiple times now for several times what the most optimistic outlook would warrant, just look at what they paid for WebOS.

      But the part I'm hoping this stink will change is Whitman and the board, because while the CEOs have been through the place like a revolving door the board that rubber stamped these insane moves including Whitman are still there and still filling the air with the stench of failure. This is why going through multiple CEOs hasn't helped AMD either, because its the pathetic board that has stayed and stunk up the place.

      So I hope it all ends up getting aired in public and the board get their golden parachutes and just get out before they have completely destroyed the company, because its painful to see what once was a great company just get run into the ground like that.

  2. James Pickett

    I doubt that any 'usual scenario' applies to HP. I expect them to write off even more money trying to defend the indefensible and I certainly wouldn't bet against Mike Lynch. Another good Christmas for the lawyers...

    1. tirk
      Facepalm

      HP "usual scenario"

      Is there any truth to the rumour that clown cars are the new executive transport there?? Certainly fits the recent management style!

      1. LateNightLarry
        FAIL

        Re: HP "usual scenario"

        My recent experience with HP printers would seem to indicate that clowns abound in the assembly plants... had two different models that were defective out of the box... both have been returned and replaced with Canon. May try HP again in a year or two, if they're still around.

    2. asdf
      WTF?

      hmm

      Down voted already eh? Hey Matt B deal with the fact HP has looked like nothing but asshats this year. On the bright side they are not Sony. Recovering from their woes looks possible.

  3. The Godfather
    Devil

    Grunge...

    Bit of an HP sauce if you ask me...

  4. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Mushroom

    "Tim Selling - a former aide to SEC, the US financial watchdog [more like a Pomerian with severe myopia unable to detect pyramid schemes even if told they are there] - said HP has complied with regulators over the debacle 'but there are still far too many unknowns to conclude that HP has been adequately forthcoming'."

    Why dontcha get hired into a management position at HP, clown?

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