You Virgin guys are going to need a lot of luck with guys like Reid and Carty running your operation.

An excerpt from the PlaneBusiness Banter – 04/05/07

Speaking of American, an ex-CFO and ex-CEO of the airline is at the periphery of the financial turmoil that is now rocking Dell Computer.

Last week, Dell said an internal investigation has found accounting errors and "evidence of misconduct." The PC maker, which is also the subject of an SEC probe, said it is still working to determine whether any financial restatements are needed. Dell hasn't disclosed the exact nature of the issues being investigated.

While his stint as head of the audit committee is no longer listed on the Dell website, former American CEO Don Carty, who is the current CFO of the company, has been on the board of Dell since 1992, and for the last several years, he served as the head of its audit committee.

You may recall that when Carty took this position in December, we mentioned here that there was some chatter in financial circles about why he would do so -- given the problems the company was already facing.

Dell has delayed all of its official financial filings with the SEC since last fall, when it revealed that the SEC and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York had launched investigations into its accounting and financial reporting.

Prosecutors have subpoenaed Dell records going back to 2002, and the company has said it has been spending upwards of $1 million a day to handle investigations into its financial reporting.

Wednesday, in an SEC filing, Dell stated it faced several risks moving forward, including "the company's inability to meet Nasdaq requirements for continued listing as a result of its delayed periodic report filings; and litigation and governmental investigations or proceedings arising out of or related to such accounting and financial reporting matters, or any restatement of the company's financial statements."

Sounds like a lovely situation.