Four former directors have been summonsed after the City regulator concluded an investigation into alleged accounting irregularities at the IT firm for which they used to work.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) launched an investigation into healthcare technology firm iSoft after internal investigators at the firm found irregularities in company accounts in August 2006 which forced the group to restate results relating to earlier years.
Ex-chairman and founder Patrick Cryne, former chief executive Timothy Whiston and ex-directors Stephen Graham and John Whelan have been summonsed to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 29 January for the offence of conspiracy to make misleading statements, according to the FSA.
The Banbury-based firm, which is now owned by Australian firm IBA Health, had been involved in the multi-billion pound NHS software programme, the National Programme for IT, which has been under scrutiny recently over ballooning development costs and high-profile delays, sparking debate among politicians over whether the programme should be targeted for major funding cuts as part of wider measures to cut public spending.
The FSA’s investigation into iSoft’s accounts revealed that £174m of revenues booked since 2003 had to be realised in future years because of the alleged irregularities, while the company recently posted worrying figures including net losses of £382.2m for 2005 following the writing down of a major acquisition in 2004.
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