FNN Lays Off Financial Staff; at Least 15 Workers Affected

Financial News Network, which last week fired its chief financial officer for allegedly receiving unauthorized payments, on Tuesday laid off its entire Los Angeles financial and accounting staff, sources said.

The layoffs, said to number at least 15 employees, were reportedly ordered to consolidate FNN’s finance department under executives based in Fairfax, Va.

FNN officials could not be reached for comment. Last week, FNN dismissed its accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche, after a disagreement over how to treat start-up costs for a new business venture launched last July. FNN then hired the accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand.

The consolidation was also said to accommodate Cooper & Lybrand’s wish to have FNN’s finance department located near the accounting firm’s Washington offices, so that it could work more closely with FNN and Infotechnology Inc. executives.

Infotechnology owns 47% of FNN and 97% of United Press International.

FNN said last week that it fired its chief financial officer, C. Steven Bolen, after it discovered that he had received unauthorized payments from an unidentified source. In addition, FNN alleged that Bolen improperly handled certain bank accounts. Bolen could not be reached for comment.

FNN’s finances are now being managed by Gary A. Prince, senior vice president of financial operations at FNN and a former senior executive at Infotechnology and UPI.

One executive at the company said the plan to lay off the accounting staff and move the department to the East was set some time ago, and the current troubles simply accelerated the timetable.