VRSN » Topics » EXPLANATORY NOTE

This excerpt taken from the VRSN 10-Q filed Jul 16, 2007.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In our 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K, we restated the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2005, and the related consolidated statements of income, stockholders’ equity, comprehensive income and cash flows for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2005 and December 31, 2004. In addition, we restated the unaudited quarterly financial information and financial statements for interim periods of 2005, and unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for the three months ended March 31, 2006.

Annual reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, filed on or before May 10, 2006, affected by the restatements have not been amended and should not be relied upon, and are superseded in their entirety by our 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed on July 12, 2007.

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with our 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as any Current Reports filed on Form 8-K.

 

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This excerpt taken from the VRSN 10-K filed Jul 12, 2007.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

 

In this Form 10-K, we are restating our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2005, and the related consolidated statements of income, stockholders’ equity, comprehensive income and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004.

 

We are also restating the unaudited quarterly financial information and financial statements for interim periods of 2005, and the unaudited condensed financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2006. The decision to restate was based on the results of an independent review into our stock option accounting that was conducted under the direction of an ad hoc group of our independent directors who had not served on our Compensation Committee before 2005 (“Ad Hoc Group”). As part of the restatement, we have also made adjustments to our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002 to correct errors identified for these fiscal years, which were not material to our financial statements in the aggregate or for any prior fiscal year.

 

Previously filed annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q affected by the restatements have not been amended and should not be relied upon.

 

We first learned of the potential issues associated with our past stock option grants from a May 16, 2006 article published by the Center for Financial Research and Analysis (“CFRA”) in which we were referenced as one of 15 public companies with one or two stock grants between 1997 and 2002 that the CFRA suggested were timed at, or close to, 40-day lows in the applicable company’s stock price or preceding a material change in the stock price. Promptly after learning of the CFRA article, and prior to receiving the grand jury subpoena or the informal SEC request described below, the Ad Hoc Group, with the assistance of independent outside counsel, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (“Cleary Gottlieb”), began reviewing the facts and circumstances of the timing of our historical stock option grants for the period January 1998 to May 2006 (“relevant period”). We believe that the analysis was properly limited to the relevant period. In addition to Cleary Gottlieb, the Ad Hoc Group was assisted in its Review by independent forensic accountants (collectively the “Review Team”).

 

On June 27, 2006, we announced that we had received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California requesting documents relating to our stock option grants and practices dating back to January 1, 1995, and had received an informal request for information from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) related to our stock option grants and practices. On February 9, 2007, we subsequently received a formal order of investigation from the SEC. We are fully cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s investigation and the SEC investigation.

 

On November 21, 2006, we announced that the Ad Hoc Group had determined the need to restate our historical financial statements to record additional non-cash stock-based compensation expense related to past stock option grants.

 

On March 30, 2007, we requested guidance from the Office of the Chief Accountant of the SEC (the “OCA”) concerning certain accounting issues relating to the restatement of our historical financials and the Review. On June 25, 2007, we concluded our discussions with the OCA regarding these accounting issues.

 

On May 29, 2007, we announced that Stratton Sclavos, our then-current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, had resigned from his position with the Company. Following Mr. Sclavos’ resignation, the Board elected director William A. Roper, Jr. as our President and CEO and Edward Mueller as our Chairman of the Board of Directors.

 

On July 10, 2007, Dana L. Evan, our then-current Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer resigned from her position with VeriSign.

 

 

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On July 5, 2007 and July 12, 2007, the Board of Directors appointed Albert E. Clement as Chief Accounting Officer and Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, of the Company.

 

The Review Team tested grants made on 239 dates, incurred 21,800 person-hours, searched more than 11 million pages of physical and electronic documents and conducted 75 interviews of 33 current and former directors, officers, employees, and advisors. We announced on January 31, 2007 that the Ad Hoc Group’s Review was substantially completed and that, based on a review of the totality of evidence and the applicable law, the Review did not find intentional wrongdoing by any current member of the senior management team or the former CEO. The Ad Hoc Group’s Review concluded that we failed to implement appropriate processes and controls for granting, accounting for, and reporting stock option grants and that corporate records in certain circumstances were incomplete or inaccurate.

 

The Review Team examined all grants to Section 16 officers and directors during the relevant period, as well as 7 annual performance grants to rank and file employees and 179 acquisition, new hire and promotion, and other grants to rank and file employees on 239 dates from January 1998 through January 2006.

 

The Review Team identified 8,164 stock option grants made on 41 dates during the relevant period for which measurement dates were incorrectly determined. The measurement dates required revision because the stated date either preceded or was subsequent to the proper measurement date and the stock price on the stated date was generally lower than the price on the proper measurement date. In several instances, the Review Team also determined that the stock price assigned on the initial grant dates was subsequently modified, without being given the required accounting and disclosure treatment.

 

Consistent with the accounting literature and recent guidance from the SEC, as part of the restatement, the grants during the relevant period were organized into categories based on grant type and process by which the grant was finalized. The evidence related to each category of grant was analyzed including, but not limited to, electronic and physical documents, document metadata, and witness interviews. Based on the relevant facts and circumstances, and consistent with the accounting literature and recent guidance from the SEC, the controlling accounting standards were applied to determine, for every grant within each category, the proper measurement date. If the measurement date was not the originally assigned grant date, accounting adjustments were made as required, resulting in stock-based compensation expense and related income tax effects.

 

EXCERPTS ON THIS PAGE:

10-Q
Jul 16, 2007
10-K
Jul 12, 2007
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