I'm not sure about you but the suspense about Nortel's first-quarter results is excruciating – okay, that's somewhat melodramatic but you don't get this kind of telecom suspense too often. With Lucent, Motorola and Sony Ericsson posting good quarterly results this week, all eyes will be on how Nortel fares. From the outside looking in, it appears the company has enjoyed a solid quarter with a steady stream of contract wins. The big question is whether CEO Frank Dunn and his senior management team have been able to stay focused on the business amid the accounting troubles that emerged in February. My take is Dunn's hold as CEO will be in the balance when he addresses questions from analysts following the first-quarter results. If he successfully bobs and weaves, and comes across as sincere but legally hamstrung, he could weather the storm. If, however, Dunn comes across as indecisive, testy and difficult, it could turn the investment community against him. I suspect Nortel will not answer any questions about its accounting problems until the regulatory investigations are over but that shouldn't stop Dunn from doing what he can.