The rectifier mystery

Why would the CEO of a company take a leave of absence in the midst of an internal investigation? Don't expect to get any answers at International Rectifier, which announced today that Alex Lidow will be stepping aside (though he'll continue to be paid and remain on the board). "The board has determined that this action was in the best interests of the company and no conclusion has been reached by the audit committee that Dr. Lidow has engaged in any wrongful conduct," the company said in a statement, which sure doesn't make it sound like the guy was leaving just to explore his inner child. The accounting irregularities involve an unnamed foreign subsidiary and included, among other things, counting revenue before it actually became revenue. Here's some detail. Last month, the board fired its executive VP and CFO, and the executive VP of global sales and marketing resigned. No mention of any connection with the investigation. We do know that several quarters of financial statements are out the window because of the accounting errors. (Electronic News)

Background: In case you don't know much about International Rectifier, it was founded in 1947 by Alex's grandfather Leon and his father Eric, who emigrated from Nazi Germany in 1937. "In the early days," said Eric, "I mentioned to one lady that I was a rectifier engineer, and she asked me if that was legal."