As much as many people may be tiring of Nortel's latest troubles, the conviction of Frank Quattrone may put the telecom equipment maker in the spotlight again. During his rein at Credit Suisse First Boston, the investment firm was Nortel's advisor for many of the multi-billion dollar deals it made. It makes you wonder if perhaps some Nortel executives received special treatment when CSFB was helping all those red-hot Internet companies with their IPOs. Just food for thought.

For all the hoopla surrounding Google's IPO plans, it seems bizarre the company is intent on establishing two classes of shares – regular shares for folks willing to buy into the offering, and super-voting shares for insiders. Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin claim they need the super-voting shares to maintain control over the company's strategic future but this is more of a case of wanting to eat your cake and have it too. Perhaps Page and Brin didn't want to take Google public but it must be difficult to resist the demands of liquidity-starved venture capitalists, including Kleiner Perkins Caulfield which stands to have its US$12.5 million stake balloon to US$3 billion when Google starts trading. For all their smarts, Page and Brin fail to realize the cost of going public is relinquishing control. When you ask investors to give you US$2.7-billion, you have to be fair. Instead, Google is violating its own “don't be evil” mantra. Of course, when you have investors chomping at the bit to give you money, you can set the terms of a deal any way you want.

After nearly a decade covering the high-tech industry, I finally snagged an award. The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance recognized me for excellence in science and technology reporting. While this was certainly exciting, the visit to Ottawa got interesting the following morning when Nortel CEO Frank Dunn was fired. Armed with a Blackberry and a laptop, I was able to listen to the conference call, write notes and e-mail my editors from the hotel room. Working away from the office, the Blackberry proved invaluable, especially after my cell phone ran out of power and I had to use the Blackberry as a phone. Now, if I could move all of my Palm contacts to my Blackberry – I can't do it right now because the National Post uses ancient Macs – life would be ideal. This out of office experience really gave me an appreciation for what a great tool the Blackberry can be.

So Frank Dunn got it? Is anyone really surprised? After all, he's been Nortel's chief financial officer – directly or indirectly – since 1999 so the accounting problems – officially described by chairman Red Wilson as “accountability” issues – eventually get back to his desk. Whether Frank directed the entire number massage exercise or simply exerted his influence is a mute point. Nortel's books are in terrible shape and there is growing speculation it was all due to a lucrative bonus program tied to a return to profitability. My take is that Frank wanted Nortel to be profitable and articulated this goal in no uncertain terms to his hand-picked financial lieutanants. When it appeared Nortel would have a slight loss in the first-quarter of last year, his boys figured that by cooking the books to show a slight profit, everyone would be happy. Dunn would be pleased that his ambitious goal was achieved, investors would be happy Nortel was a good investment again, and, best of of all for Nortel's executives and employees, the bonus plan would come into play. It was all too tempting for the number crunchers to resist. In the end, they were caught with their hands deep in the cookie jar. Why the board or Nortel's auditor, Deloitte Touch Tohmatsu, didn't catch this all earlier is a mystery. We'll likely have to wait for the Securities & Exchange investigation to be completed before the truth is finally told. Any way you cut it, it stinks. As for Dunn, he joins Paul Stern and John Roth in Nortel's dubious CEO Hall of Shame.

Two of the biggest questions in the high-tech world this week are whether Nortel CEO Frank “Silent Man” Dunn and Google Inc. will provide insight into what's happening with their companies. On Thursday, Nortel will post its first-quarter results, and during a conference call analysts are expected to ask Dunn questions such as: when do you expect the investigations into the company's accounting woes to be completed; why did you give your CFO and controller extended paid vacations even though you have directly or indirectly been the CFO since 1999; and will you give back any of the bonuses and options granted as a result of Nortel's improved financial performance if the accounting re-statements show the results weren't that good?
As for Google, it has to cough up financial information by Thursday to comply with SEC regulations. The search engine giant could file for an IPO or it could issue disclosure statements and put off the IPO exercise for a little while longer. The pressure to go IPO is enormous given that you have several high-profile VCs, who have not enjoyed a home run in years, chomping at the bit for a “liquidation event”. And you have to believe that Tiger Woods, who owns a few Google shares, needs the cash.