CA asking SEC for extension
Software company needs more time to ready financial statements for its annual report; chief tech officer expected to be named soon
BY
MARK HARRINGTON AND JAMES BERNSTEIN
STAFF WRITERS; Staff writer Robert E. Kessler contributed to this story. June 15, 2006
Investors who have been waiting for CA
Inc.'s annual report are going to have to wait a little longer.
The Islandia-based software giant, formerly known as Computer Associates International, said after the close of trading Tuesday that it will ask the Securities and Exchange Commission for a 15-day extension for filing its annual report.
The report, which was due out yesterday, is
now expected to be filed on June 29, CA said.
But the company is expected to attend to other important matters before that deadline, such as filling the position of chief technology officer this week. The leading contender is said to be Alan Nugent, who oversees CA's Unicenter business unit. Nugent, a former chief technology officer for networking giant Novell, joined CA in March 2005. The company yesterday declined to comment on the chief technology officer's post. It opened up when executive vice president Mark Barrenechea announced he would leave this month to join technology investment firm Garnett & Helfrich Capital as a director. The imminent appointment and the expected hiring of a chief financial officer are likely to be welcomed by Wall Street, which has bemoaned executive departures and delayed financials by hammering its share price to 52-week lows. In May, CA restated its third-quarter results and delayed reporting for the final three months of its last fiscal year after it said it had underestimated sales commissions. The company said it has requested the 15-day extension because it did not expect to complete the preparation of its consolidated financial statements and management's assessments of internal control over financial reporting as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 by the initial filing deadline of June 14. CA has been struggling since it was hit by an accounting scandal that led to the resignation of its chief executive, Sanjay Kumar, who pleaded guilty to fraud charges. At this point, law enforcement officials do not believe the current financial problems result from any criminal misconduct or violation of the federal monitorship agreement put into place after the accounting scandal, sources said. As it prepares to release the year-end report by month's end, CA is said to be working to put the commissions and tax-related financial issues behind it. In any case, CA chairman Lewis Ranieri on Tuesday voiced confidence in his chief executive, John Swainson. At a presentation for Ranieri's new company, Root Markets, Ranieri said the company's board believes Swainson is doing a good job, according to Bloomberg News. "He's got it under control," Ranieri said in Manhattan. "There's nobody on the board who doesn't have confidence in that CEO."
Staff writer Robert E. Kessler contributed
to this story.
Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.
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