RSA Security has reached an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that resolves an investigation dating back to the first quarter of 2001.
The probe centered on whether a change in RSA’s method for estimating distributor revenue, disclosed in its quarterly report filed with the SEC, should have also been in its earning press release a few weeks earlier.
The SEC maintained that “although the accounting change itself complied with generally accepted accounting principles, RSA’s statements created the misleading impression that its ability to meet analysts’ earnings expectations for the quarter resulted solely from its operations, rather than, in part, the accounting change.”
In the settlement, the Bedford, Mass., company neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing and agreed to abide by anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. RSA said it cooperated with SEC investigators.
The agreement has no impact on RSA’s previously reported financial results, and no penalty has been assessed against the Company or any of its officers.
The company has more than 12,000 customers for its software, which establishes online identities, access rights and privileges for people, applications and devices. It also has more than 1,000 technology partners.
The settlement was announced after markets closed on Wednesday.
