UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of report
(Date of earliest event reported): March 25, 2004
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 1-9802 11-2308681
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(State or other (Commission File (IRS Employer
Jurisdiction of Number) Identification No.)
Incorporation)
One Symbol Plaza
Holtsville, New York 11742
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(Address of principal (Zip Code)
executive offices)
Registrant's telephone number, including
area code: (631) 738-2400
Former name or former address, if changed
since last report: Not Applicable
ITEM 4. CHANGES IN REGISTRANTS' CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT.
(a) Previous Principal Independent Accountants and Auditors.
(i) On March 25, 2004, Symbol Technologies, Inc. (the "Registrant")
dismissed Deloitte & Touche LLP ("D&T") as its independent auditors. D&T's
dismissal was approved by the Registrant's Audit Committee of the Board of
Directors.
(ii) The audit reports of D&T on the Registrant's consolidated financial
statements for the years ended December 31, 2003 and 2002 did not contain an
adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion and were not qualified or modified as
to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principles. D&T's audit report on
Registrant's consolidated financial statements for such years includes an
explanatory paragraph relating to the change in method of accounting in 2002 for
goodwill and other intangibles to conform to Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards (Statement) No. 142, "Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets."
(iii) During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2003 and 2002 and the
subsequent interim period through the date of this Form 8-K, there were no
disagreements between the Registrant and D&T on any matter of accounting
principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or
procedure, which disagreement, if not resolved to the satisfaction of D&T, would
have caused D&T to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreement in
connection with their reports, except as follows:
(1) Subsequent to the issuance of the Company's 2002 consolidated
financial statements, D&T advised the Company that it believed that the
accounting treatment afforded to an available for sale security for which an
other than temporary impairment charge was recorded in the second quarter of
2002 should be revised. D&T advised the Company that it believed that an other
than temporary impairment of such investment should have been recognized in
2001. The Company disagreed with D&T's conclusions with respect to this matter.
This accounting matter was resolved, the Company revised the accounting
treatment for this investment and reissued its 2002 financial statements in an
amended filing of its' 2002 Annual Report on Form 10-K/A (Amendment No. 1) on
February 25, 2004.
(iv) During the two fiscal years ended December 31, 2003 and 2002 and the
subsequent interim period through the date of this Form 8-K, D&T reported to the
Registrant's Audit Committee that D&T considered matters involving the
Registrant's internal controls and their operation to be material weaknesses as
follows:
(1) In connection with its audit of the consolidated financial
statements of the Registrant for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, D&T
reported to the Audit Committee the following material weaknesses:
o decentralized accounting structure for operations in the United
States;
o inadequate policies and processes for identifying complex non-standard
transactions, including restructurings and acquisitions;
o inadequate hiring of qualified and experienced personnel;
o inadequate training and supervision of personnel;
o inadequate systems and systems interfaces;
o errors related to the processing of stock option exercises;
o errors related to the timing and amount of revenue recognized;
o errors in the timing and recording of certain reserves, including
excess and obsolete inventory;
o inadequate support and approval for numerous manual journal entries;
and
o informal and inconsistent policies and procedures related to account
reconciliations.
(2) In connection with its audit of the consolidated financial
statements of the Registrant for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003, D&T
reported that a material weakness exists related to the manner in which the
Registrant processes transactions to record revenue. Additionally, D&T reported
that deficiencies exist relating to the adequacy and timeliness of account
reconciliations, formalized worldwide policies and procedures and the amount of
manual journal entries required to record transactions.
The Registrant has authorized D&T to respond fully to inquiries of the
successor accountant concerning the reportable events discussed above.
(v) The Registrant requested that D&T furnish it with a letter addressed to
the Securities and Exchange Commission stating whether D&T agrees with the
statements made in response to this Item 304(a) and, if not, the respects in
which it does not agree. A copy of the letter from D&T dated March 31, 2004, is
filed as Exhibit 16.1 to this Form 8-K.
(b) New Principal Independent Accountants and Auditors.
On March 25, 2004, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the
Registrant appointed Ernst & Young LLP ("E&Y") as the Registrant's independent
certifying auditor, for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2004, subject to
ratification by the stockholders of the Registrant at its annual meeting. During
the fiscal years ended December 31, 2003 and 2002 and the subsequent interim
period through the date of this Form 8-K, the Registrant has not consulted with
E&Y regarding the application of accounting principles to a specified
transaction, either completed or proposed, the type of audit opinion that might
be rendered on the Registrant's consolidated financial statements, or any matter
that was the subject of disagreement or a reportable event as set forth in Items
304(a)(2)(i) and (ii) of Regulation S-K.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.
(c) The following exhibit is included herein:
Exhibit 16.1 Letter from D&T to the Securities and Exchange Commission
dated March 31, 2004
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Exchange Act, the Registrant has duly
caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly
authorized.
SYMBOL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Date: March 31, 2004 By: /s/ Mark T. Greenquist
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Name: Mark T. Greenquist
Title: Senior Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit Description
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Exhibit 16.1 Letter from Deloitte & Touche LLP to the
Securities and Exchange Commission dated March 31, 2004