Uk's Richest Man Creates Website to Rebut HP Allegations

Date: Tuesday December 4, 2012 08:56:17 am

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<a href=”http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-autonomy-founder-mike-lynch-creates-web-site-to-rebut-hp-charges-20121204,0,927752.story”>Uk’s Richest Man Creates Website to Rebut HP Allegations</a>
Autonomy founder Mike Lynch has stepped up his unusual public defense by <a href=”http://autonomyaccounts.org/”>launching a website </a>designed to bolster his argument that allegations of accounting fraud are untrue. 
<a href=”http://www.latimes.com/topic/economy-business-finance/hewlett-packard-co.-ORCRP007258.topic” title=”Hewlett-Packard Co.” id=”ORCRP007258″ class=”taxInlineTagLink”>Hewlett-Packard</a> made that stunning accusation last week, claiming that Lynch and other Autonomy executives engaged in systematic accounting tricks that inflated the company’s revenues before HP acquired it last year. 
Rather than offering the standard “no comment” and ducking behind a wall of lawyers, Lynch has been all over TV and newspapers shooting down the notion that anything funny was going on at Autonomy. 
The website is called <a href=”http://autonomyaccounts.org/”>”AutonomyAccounts.org”</a> and appears to have gone live Monday. 
”This website is maintained by Dr Mike Lynch on behalf of the former management team of Autonomy. The site provides relevant information pertaining to the accusations made by Hewlett Packard (HP) on 20 November 2012 of financial impropriety at Autonomy. The former management team of Autonomy strongly rejects the accusations made by HP,” reads the site’s “About” page.
The site also contains a timeline of Autonomy events, and Lynch’s letter to the HP board, disputing the claims, and demanding more information so he can defend himself: 
”Having no details beyond the limited public information provided last week, and still with no further contact from you, I am writing today to ask you, the board of HP, for immediate and specific explanations for the allegations HP is making. HP should provide me with the interim report and any other documents which you say you have provided to the SEC and the SFO so that I can answer whatever is alleged, instead of the selective disclosure of non-material information via background discussions with the media.”
And, of course, the site provides a way to contact Lynch for further comment. 

<h1><img width=”580″ height=”336″ border=”0″ title=”Autonomy founder Mike Lynch appears on CNBC to defend himself against HP’s allegations. ” alt=”Autonomy founder Mike Lynch appears on CNBC to defend himself against HP’s allegations. ” src=”http://www.trbimg.com/img-50be112e/turbine/la-fi-tn-autonomy-founder-mike-lynch-creates-w-001/600″ /></h1>
Autonomy founder Mike Lynch appears on CNBC to defend himself against HP’s allegations. (Autonomy Accounts website) 
 
 
<a href=”http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/lynch-declares-innocence-in-open-letter-hp-board-hp-fires-back-207874″>http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/lynch-declares-innocence-in-open-letter-hp-board-hp-fires-back-207874</a> 
Lynch declares innocence in open letter to HP board, HP fires back 
The public war of words comes after HP said it would take a multibillion writedown due to alleged accounting fraud by Autonomy
The feud between Autonomy founder Mike Lynch and Hewlett-Packard’s leadership over alleged accounting fraud at the software vendor has intensified, with Lynch declaring his innocence in an open letter to the company’s board and HP quickly returning fire.
<a href=”http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/hewlett-packard-takes-88-billion-charge-in-autonomy-acquisition-207486″>HP said last week that it would take a $8.8 billion write-down</a> in part due to the alleged accounting improprieties by Autonomy, which it acquired last year for $10.3 billion. The deal was roundly criticized by some observers, who believed HP had paid too much. But the alleged accounting fraud caused Autonomy to be highly overvalued, according to HP.
In his letter issued Tuesday, Lynch decried HP’s claims.
”It was shocking that HP put non-specific but highly damaging allegations into the public domain without prior notification or contact with me, as former CEO of Autonomy,” he wrote. “I utterly reject all allegations of impropriety. “
”Having no details beyond the limited public information provided last week, and still with no further contact from you, I am writing today to ask you, the board of HP, for immediate and specific explanations for the allegations HP is making,” Lynch added. “HP should provide me with the interim report and any other documents which you say you have provided to the SEC and the SFO so that I can answer whatever is alleged, instead of the selective disclosure of non-material information via background discussions with the media.”
Lynch challenged HP to answer a number of questions, including how it determined the alleged fraud constituted more than $5 billion of the $8.8 billion write-down.
”In order to justify a $5 billion accounting write-down, a significant amount of revenue must be involved,” he wrote. “Please explain how such issues could possibly have gone undetected during the extensive acquisition due diligence process and HP’s financial oversight of Autonomy for a year from acquisition until October 2012 (a period during which all of the Autonomy finance reported to HP’s CFO Cathie Lesjak).”
Lynch, who left HP in May, also questioned why the vendor’s management waited until now to disclose the allegations to shareholders.
The open letter was just the latest move by Lynch in response to HP’s allegations, as he has granted a number of media interviews on the subject.
In a statement released Tuesday, HP declined to address Lynch’s questions.
”While Dr. Lynch is eager for a debate, we believe the legal process is the correct method in which to bring out the facts and take action on behalf of our shareholders,” it stated. “In that setting, we look forward to hearing Dr. Lynch and other former Autonomy employees answer questions under penalty of perjury.”
”The matter is in the hands of the authorities, including the UK Serious Fraud Office, the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division and the US Department of Justice, and we will defer to them as to how they wish to engage with Dr. Lynch,” it added. “In addition, HP will take legal action against the parties involved at the appropriate time.”
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December 4, 2012 at 8:56 AM

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