Adjudicated GB LSE

Autonomy Corp: Hardware Resale Disguised as High-Margin Software

Sold hardware at a loss to create appearance of rapid growth and booked gross software revenues before HP's $11B buyout.

CASE PROFILE & BENCHMARKS

Target Issuer: Autonomy Corporation plc (GB).
Fraud Period: January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2014.
Reported Overstatement: $8.8B.
Total Fines & Penalties: $0.
Maximum Incarceration: No prison sentence.
Independent Auditor: Deloitte & Touche LLP.
Primary Schemes: gross vs net.
Enforcement Status: ADJUDICATED (admitted).

OVERSTATEMENT $8.8B USD reported

TOTAL PENALTIES $0 Civil & disgorgement

PRISON TIME None No prison sentence

FIRST ACTION September 20, 2014 Initial proceeding

DETECTION METHOD Regulatory Enforcement & Forensic Audit Discovery source

PRIMARY REGULATOR Serious Fraud Office (UK) GB

ACCOUNTING MECHANICS FOR THIS CASE

HOW IT WAS DONE

In settled proceedings with admissions, the regulator found that The company manipulated its accounting records by executing schemes under gross-vs-net. Financial reports filed with market regulators contained material misstatements that distorted true financial condition.

Applicable Scheme Classifications:

gross vs net →

CHARGED RESPONDENTS & OUTCOMES

1 NAMED PARTIES

Respondent	Role	Disposition & Judicial Outcome	Prison	Civil Penalty	O&D Bar
Autonomy Corporation plc	ISSUER	Enforcement order and financial sanctions imposed.	None	$0	No

RED FLAGS OBSERVED PRIOR TO DISCOVERY

EARLY SIGNALS

CASH FLOW TO NET INCOME DIVERGENCE 2012 Operating cash flow severely diverged from reported earnings

ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS & PRIMARY DOCKETS

PRIMARY SOURCE CITATIONS

foreign regulator ENF-2012-autonomy

Filing Date: September 20, 2014

Enforcement Action: Autonomy Corp: Hardware Resale Disguised as High-Margin Software

Sold hardware at a loss to create appearance of rapid growth and booked gross software revenues before HP's $11B buyout.

Provisions: Securities & Corporate Law Compliance

Disposition: admitted View Primary Record ↗

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

CHRONOLOGY

June 1, 2012 • Misstatement

Material accounting irregularities commenced.

September 20, 2014 • Enforcement

Regulators commenced formal proceedings.

FINANCIAL CRIME REFERENCE SERIES

Cross-Domain Investigation Network

Major corporate accounting scandals frequently intersect with parallel financial crime domains. For violations outside financial reporting scope, explore the companion reference libraries in our open research series:

How Scams Work ↗

Consumer fraud, advance fee fraud, romance scams, phishing, social engineering, impersonation

How Money Laundering Works ↗

Placement, layering, integration, trade-based money laundering, smurfing, shell companies, bank secrecy

How Sanctions Evasion Works ↗

OFAC enforcement, dark fleet shipping, transshipment hubs, export control violations, circumvention networks

How Market Manipulation Works ↗

Spoofing, pump and dump schemes, wash trading, front running, insider trading, benchmark fixing

How Tax Evasion Works ↗

Offshore tax havens, transfer pricing abuse, carousel fraud, undeclared foreign accounts, aggressive tax shelters