In the stock option backdating predicament that never quite reached the level of full-blown scandal, Apple Inc. might have done some things right -- once it acknowledged it had a problem.
Even as Apple's former chief financial officer blasted Chief Executive Steve Jobs for ignoring early warnings, the Securities and Exchange Commission praised the company on Tuesday for its "swift, extensive and extraordinary cooperation" in the investigation that led to an SEC lawsuit against the former CFO and another ex- executive. The agency credited the company for the steps it took in handling its stock option backdating problems, such as quickly reporting the mishandling, conducting an independent internal investigation and sharing the results of that investigation with the government.
It's too early to know whether Apple and Jobs are really in the clear. Although the SEC said it was closing its probe of the company, it stopped short of saying it wasn't looking at Jobs. The company is under criminal investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco and is the subject of shareholder lawsuits.
Still, because the agency didn't sue the company, "it makes it really difficult for me to imagine Apple facing criminal indictment," said James Sanders, a former SEC attorney and federal prosecutor who is a partner in the Los Angeles office of McDermott, Will & Emery.
As for Jobs, Sanders said, "the fact that he wasn't named in this round is good news for him."
Fred Anderson -- the former Apple CFO, who settled the SEC charges against him Tuesday by agreeing to pay more than $3.5 million -- suggested that Jobs shouldn't be off the hook.
In a statement issued by his lawyer, Anderson said he had warned Jobs about the financial implications of backdating stock options without board approval. Jobs not only ignored the CFO's warnings but also misrepresented the board's level of approval of the stock option grants, the statement said.
Anderson's allegation contradicts the company's internal report, which said Jobs was aware of Apple's backdating of options and in some cases picked favorable dates but didn't "appreciate the accounting implications."
"We're not looking to place blame here," said Anderson's lawyer, Jerome Roth. "We believe in light of the complaint it was important to get out background facts."
Asked to comment on Anderson's statement, an Apple spokesman said: "The SEC brought charges against two former Apple employees and it did not file any action against Apple or against any of its current employees."
