Apple's Options Review Says Management Clean

Now that Apple Computer Inc. has cleared its current management of any wrongdoing in the company’s options-granting practices -- published reports say that investigators are taking a closer look at two former executives.

According to the Wall Street Journal, former chief financial officer Fred Anderson and former general counsel and board secretary Nancy Heinen are among those under the spotlight. Lawyers for Anderson and Heinen have said that their clients did nothing wrong. Anderson joined Apple in 1996, while Heinen has been a longtime employee of Apple chief executive Steve Jobs.

Last week, Apple turned over the results of its internal probe to the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. In a filing with the SEC, Apple said that thousands of options grants between 1997 and 2002 were improperly dated.

"The special committee, its independent counsel and forensic accountants have performed an exhaustive investigation of Apple's stock option granting practices," said Al Gore, chair of the special committee, and Jerome York, chair of Apple's Audit and Finance Committee, in a statement. "The board of directors is confident that the company has corrected the problems that led to the restatement, and it has complete confidence in Steve Jobs and the senior management team."

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