Oracle Corp, which long ago restated its 1990 and 1991 figures the better to reflect a true and fair presentation of its performance, can finally put the matter behind it after agreeing to settle charges brought by the Securities & Exchange Commission that it inflated its revenues and earnings by double-billing customers, failing to deduct product returns and using other accounting irregularities; the company agreed to pay a fine of $100,000 but didn’t admit or deny that it violated Commision rules; earlier this year, Oracle paid $24m to settle civil lawsuits filed by shareholders that had similar complaints about the accounting practices; that settlement, still subject to court approval, resulted in a 12-cent-a-share charge taken in the firm’s fiscal third quarter.
