First Financial Management Corp, Atlanta, which provides computer services to banks on a bureau basis, has had to restate its figures for the first three quarters of 1991 downwards to account for discrepancies at its Basis Information Technologies subsidiary: the company now says profits for the first nine months were $55.4m or $1.89 a share on turnover of $823.4m, making profits about 10% lower than the $61.8m or $2.11 a share on $830.2m turnover originally reported; Basis brought together 19 acquisitions serving small banks and First Financial was a bit too hasty in eliminating accounting staff to cut overheads so that it lost track of revenue accruals that should have reduced as contracts expired.
