Questions cloud Nortel CFO's resignation

Telecommunications equipment maker Nortel Networks announced the resignation of Terry Hungle, its recently appointed chief financial officer, amid questions surrounding the timing of some personal investment transactions. Former Nortel CFO and current Chief Executive Frank Dunn will assume Hungle's duties until a new CFO can be found, the company said. The networking gear maker said in a statement that it notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission of the circumstances surrounding certain personal investment transactions carried out in 2001 by Hungle in Nortel's U.S. Long-Term Investment (401k) Plan. These transactions occurred outside the trading windows imposed by Nortel upon certain employees, including Hungle, and prior to news releases issued by the company on March 27, 2001 and Dec. 21, 2001, Nortel said in a statement. The departure of Nortel's CFO could not come at a worse time for the company, which can ill-afford the perception that its financial house is not in order. Nortel has been hit hard by an industrywide downturn in spending on the telecom equipment the company specializes in. In addition, potential customers for Nortel's equipment are now under accounting scrutiny, such as Global Crossing and Quest Communications International, feeding industrywide concern about the health of company accounting. --Ben Heskett, Special to ZDNet News