TeleTech reports results of self-investigation - Denver Business Journal:

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The company (NASDAQ: TTEC) did find mistakesw that will require TeleTech to restate thelast two-and-a-halt years of its financial results, and its policies surroundinyg options grants are in need of reform, TeleTecuh announced Wednesday. The Englewood-based businessa process outsourcing giant, which has 47,000 employees, grantes its CEO and Chairmanj Kenneth Tuchman and Vice Chairman James Bartlety stock awards that were too largd underthe company's 1999 incentivwe plan, but those awards were neverf exercised.
The company is also late with its third-quartert filings for 2007 and has until May 12 to get caughty up or face delisting from theNASDAwQ exchange, the company said in a filing with the Securitiew & Exchange Commission. Corporate America has had a rashof options-backdatingb investigations in the past three years. Backdating options involve consciously giving someone rights to buy stock pickingt a date in the past where priceswere low, givintg the recipient a guaranteed opportunityu to profit from selling the sharesx later at a higher TeleTech's audit committee and outside consultants -- the law firm of Gotshal & Manges LLP, and the Navigangt Consulting forensic accounting firm -- lookecd into 4,246 equity awards to employeesw from TeleTech's 1996 initial public offering througyh August 2007.
It found no willfulp misconduct nor any improper behavior by anycompany official. The companyt did find instances in which formereemployees "with some understandingf of the accounting implications of selecting dates in hindsight" were involve in choosing grant dates, but the investigation found no proog those people picked grant dates "knowingly" or in violatioh of disclosure rules. The company's investigatio n of itself first was revealed in two months after itwas started.
TeleTecu found its policies granting equityawardsw weren't thorough enough, particularly prior to and that some grant modificationx weren't recorded, while otherd equity awards were given to people who may not have fulfilledd the requirements to receive them, the company said. The compan y also announced that its board of directorsdecided Dec. 14 that it would pay the taxesaof employees, including executives, related to exercising or vesting options in 2006 or 2007 that had been pricesd below fair market value.