BN Finds Improper Options Grants Following an internal investigation, Barnes & Noble concluded that “there were numerous instances of improperly dated stock option grants… and that serious mistakes were made,” but the company says they “did not find any intent to defraud or fraudulent misconduct.” About half of the errors related to using “the benefit of hindsight” in dating options. The price differences comprise $45.5 million over 10 years, plus another $10 million at Barnes & Noble.com. Most of the gap will be accounted for by adjusting balance sheet items (retained earnings, deferred tax assets and additional paid-in-capital) rather than […]
