Starboard's stake is valued at roughly $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The results of that probe led to the ouster of Autodesk's then-CFO, Deborah Clifford, who was moved to a different executive role within Autodesk. The probe found that executives manipulated reporting tied to company's contract billing structure, as Autodesk shifted back to upfront payments from annualized payments, to improve those metrics. The delayed disclosure came a little more than a week after the deadline to nominate directors closed. Starboard is weighing legal action in Delaware Chancery court to compel the reopening of Autodesk's nominating window and the delay of Autodesk's annual meeting, the people said.

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Persons: Jeff Smith, Autodesk's, Deborah Clifford, Marc Benioff's Salesforce Organizations: Autodesk, Securities and Exchange Commission, Cisco, Wall Street, Sachem, Capital Management, Eminence Capital, Justice Department, SEC Locations: Delaware