Halliburton Says SEC Is Investigating 1998 Accounting Change
By Daniel Taub
Dallas, May 29 (Bloomberg) --" Halliburton Co. said the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the oilfield services
company's practice of booking revenue from some disputed construction jobs, an accounting change made while U.S. Vice
President Dick Cheney ran the firm.
The world's second-biggest provider of services to oil and natural-gas companies received a one-paragraph letter from the SEC
disclosing a probe into how Halliburton treats cost overruns on construction jobs, Chief Financial Officer Doug Foshee said in an
interview. Halliburton expects to receive a formal request for documents or a subpoena in the next few days.
Halliburton changed the way it booked revenue for disputed construction projects in 1998 when Cheney was chief executive
officer and Arthur Andersen LLP was the company's accountant. Halliburton said it never booked a profit from a job it didn't get
paid for. Halliburton shares have tumbled 59 percent in the past year, partly on concern about rising asbestos claims.
``There were some business-driven changes that prompted them to change their accounting,'' said Fred Mutalibov, an analyst with
SWS Securities who rates Halliburton shares ``strong buy'' and doesn't own them. ``There could be a short-term drag on the
stock'' because of the SEC investigation, he said.
The SEC already is investigating the accounting at several large energy firms, including Dynegy Inc., Reliant Energy Inc., CMS
Energy Corp., Baker Hughes Inc. and Hanover Compressor Co. The industry came under scrutiny amid last year's collapse of
Enron Corp., once the world's largest energy trader, which filed the biggest-ever corporate bankruptcy in December. "
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Thanks for the information on the SEC investigation of Halliburton under Cheney. I wasn't sure when
the SEC started its investigation. Mephisto |
