With the jury still out on Informix Corp’s tentative rehabilitation efforts, the Menlo Park, California database company has been forced to make yet another correction to its published figures, reversing the surprise first quarter profit announced earlier this month. First quarter revenues have been reduced by $6m to $161m, turning the previously announced $4.9m profit into a narrow $400,000 deficit for the quarter. The difference isn’t huge, but it will infuriate Informix’s new management team, who are trying to pick up the pieces after a history of accounting mal-practice at the firm. The latest reversal stems from the way Informix accounts for products sold to industrial manufacturers, e.g. telecoms companies who provide voice mail systems based around Informix databases. Under Informix’s new ultra-conservative accounting policies, these customers are now to be treated as re-sellers and not end users. According to Informix’s new chief financial officer, Jean-Yves Dexmier, the firm’s external accountants, Ernst & Young LLP, were approached months ago for a recommendation on how these customers were to be accounted for. Unluckily for him, they reached their decision just after the first quarter results were published. And, coincidentally, just after they were fired as auditors. We would have liked our former accountants to have given us a quicker answer to the problem, rather than six months afterwards, said Dexmier, but he insists this was nothing to do with the ultimate dismissal of Ernst & Young as the firm’s independent auditors. This decision was taken several months ago, said Dexmier, who wanted to make a fresh start with a new firm. And after this episode, it isn’t difficult to see why. Informix’s shares fell 6% to close at $7.06 on Thursday.
