Management Toolkit

CA chief steps down amidst accounting scandal

Martin LaMonica and Will Sturgeon silicon.com

Published: 21 Apr 2004 18:47 BST

Sanjay Kumar, chairman and chief executive of Computer Associates, has stepped down from both positions with the company.

CA was quick to deny the move implied any wrongdoing on Kumar's part related to ongoing SEC and DoJ investigations.

Kumar will be replaced as company chairman by the chairman of CA's board Lewis Ranieri.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, CA said the management shake-up was in response to an ongoing internal inquiry into the company's accounting practices. Kumar's departure is not an admission that he participated in any wrongdoing, Ranieri said in a statement.

"The changes in Sanjay's role are not based on the conclusion that he engaged in any wrongdoing. Nonetheless, the conduct in question occurred during his tenure, and the board felt this action was appropriate," Ranieri said.

CA has been accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of a "widespread" practice of improperly recognising revenue during 2000, which helped boost the price of the company's stock.

Ranieri was appointed to the board of CA during troubled times in 2001 when the company was locked in a power struggle over its leadership which Kumar won over Texan billionaire Sam Wyly.

Ranieri was the founder of investment company Hyperion Partners.

Kumar will remain at CA as chief software architect