HP says accounting a 'ridiculous' excuse for Autonomy writedown

A DIFFERENCE in opinion on applying international accounting rules is a ‘patently ridiculous’ defence for former Autonomy directors to take in explaining why HP had to make billions of dollars in writedowns following its acquisition, HP has claimed.

Former Autonomy founder Dr Mike Lynch (pictured) and other former directors claim that HP failed to grasp the difference between US GAAP and IFRS – in that the international rules allow sales to resellers as bookable revenue, as opposed to whom the reseller sells onto, according to reports.

But an HP spokesman said it was ‘patently ridiculous’ for the directors to claim that HP’s issue – that Autonomy allegedly falsely inflated sales figures through accounting – was in fact a misunderstanding.

With details emerging over the weekend from US government documents accusing Autonomy of booking sales that never happened, Lynch and the other directors deny the deals flagged up would justify the multi-billion dollar writedown made by HP.