Movie Tech Maker Avid Wins Big at Oscars, but Not at Accounting

Avid Technology, a developer of digital audio and video editing software and equipment whose products were widely used in a number of Oscar-nominated movies, has delayed its fourth-quarter earnings due to accounting problems.

The Burlington, Mass.-based company said Monday that it is postponing its fourth quarter 2012 earnings release and investor conference call, which were previously scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, to provide additional time for the company “to evaluate its current and historical accounting treatment related to bug fixes, upgrades and enhancements to certain products which the company has provided to certain customers.”

Avid noted that the need to evaluate the accounting treatment arose during its normal review of its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2012. Avid said it is working diligently to complete its evaluation, but is currently unable to estimate when the evaluation will be completed.

The announcement came just a day after the Academy Awards and on the same day Avid trumpeted its role in making a number of the Oscar winners.

The company noted that this year, all of the nominated films in the Best Editing category were cut by Avid customers, while one or more of Avid's audio and video solutions were also used in the creation of all of this year's Best Picture nominees. Argo won the Oscar in both categories. Other winners created with Avid solutions include Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall for Sound Editing, Les Misérables for Sound Mixing, Life of Pi for Original Score, and Skyfall for Original Song.

Other Oscar-winning films created with Avid products include Django Unchained for Original Screenplay and Actor in a Supporting Role, Amour for Foreign Language Film, Lincoln for Production Design and Actor in a Leading Role, and Silver Linings Playbook for Actress in a Leading Role. The Oscar-nominated film Beasts of the Southern Wild was also created with Avid systems.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Financial reporting
MORE FROM ACCOUNTING TODAY