Peregrine bean counters accused of cooking the books

NEWS Asset management specialist Peregrine has joined the list of companies facing accounting investigations as the US stock exchange regulator cracks down in the wake of the Enron fiasco. The company will restate its financial results for the whole of fiscal 2000 and 2001, as well as the first three quarters of 2002, which could see $100m of revenue wiped off its balance sheet. Peregrine has also announced that it will be co-operating with a US Securities and Exchange Commission probe into its accounting practices. Earlier this month the company's CEO and CFO both stepped down, and warned the markets that it may have to restate its results. Peregrine, which sells software to help companies track their physical assets, was until recently audited by Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm facing oblivion following its involvement in the Enron fiasco. The company cut 450 jobs out of nearly 4,000 employees back in February, and has warned that it may have to make more redundancies. It joins a growing list of tech companies defending accusations of accounting irregularities - last week Network Associates announced it is facing an SEC investigation into accounts dating back to 1998.