An investigation into financial statements has delayed an audit of earning statements for two fiscal years to determine the impact of backdating of stock options at Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. The Camarillo-based company had expected to complete the audits for fiscal years ending in 2006 and 2007 in June but has delayed that to Sept. 30. The reconstruction and verification of the Company’s financial statements for fiscal 2006 and 2007, including the determination of measurement dates for stock option grants and the confirmation of third-party revenues, has taken longer than expected. This delay is not due to any issues of fraud or other accounting irregularities not previously disclosed, the company said. In December 2006, a special committee to the Vitesse board concluded that former senior management had improperly backdated the dates of stock options over a number of years and then tried to conceal the backdating by creating or altering documents. The backdating scheme is expected to cost the company as much as $120 million, the special committee reported. Shares in Vitesse closed down at $0.69.
