Mark A. King, Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) chief executive and president, and Warren D. Edwards, the company’s chief financial officer, on Monday tendered their resignations after a probe into past stock options practices at the information technology services company revealed that both men had violated its code of ethics, the Associated Press reports via BusinessWeek.com.Fifty-two-year-old Lynn Blodgett, ACS’ chief operating officer, was chosen to immediately replace King as CEO and president; and 49-year-old John Rexford, executive vice president of corporate development, is the company’s new chief finance executive, according to the AP.King and Edwards are expected to stay with the firm until June 30, 2007, to assist with the transition, the AP reports.In response to both a pending Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe and a subpoena to appear before a grand jury issued by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, ACS in September delayed filing its annual financials and said it would launch an internal investigation into possible backdating of stock options going back to 1994, according to the AP. Backdating is when a firm assigns past values to stock that are higher than current values to make them look more appealing to investors. The internal probe discovered that along with former CEO Jeffery Rich, King and Edwards, only one additional existing management staffer was aware of the backdating, according to the AP.ACS plans to continue its investigation, and it estimates the non-cash compensation costs associated with the backdating of options to be around $51 million, not including a number of tax-related expenditures, the AP reports. The news comes at time when a large number of firms—many of which are technology companies—are under investigation by the SEC and other authorities for possible stock options backdating.Related Links: Apple: CEO Steve Jobs Knew of Backdating Three Ex-Brocade Execs Charged in Stock Options Probe Big Changes at McAfee in Wake of Stock Options Scandal Novell Launches Internal Stock Options ProbeCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo news Alteryx works in generative AI for speedy analytics results OpenAI integration and AI wizardry for report generation are aimed at making Alteryx’s analytics products more accessible. By Jon Gold May 25, 2023 3 mins Analytics Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe