Apple Board supports Jobs, rebuffs CFO claims

Ahead of its quarterly earnings call, Apple's Board of Directors today issued a statement flatly rejecting accusations made by ex-Apple CFO Fred Anderson against CEO Steve Jobs, insisting that the company had acted in good faith and that the Securities and Exchange Commission's decisions on Tuesday validated its actions. "We are not going to enter into a public debate with Fred Anderson or his lawyer," the statement reads. "Steve Jobs cooperated fully with Apple’s independent investigation and with the government’s investigation of stock option grants at Apple.

"The SEC investigated the matter thoroughly and its complaint speaks for itself, in terms of what it says, what it does not say, who it charges, and who it does not charge. We have complete confidence in the conclusions of Apple’s independent investigation, and in Steve’s integrity and his ability to lead Apple."

The statement was credited as representing several of the Board's members, including Google's Eric Schmidt and former US Vice President Al Gore.

Anderson had used his legal representative to suggest that Jobs was complicit in the questionable stock options backdating that led to the SEC probe, having allegedly warned the CEO in January 2001 of what the correct procedure should be but also being overridden by the Board of Directors.

Filed under: Apple