The City watchdog has begun criminal proceedings against four former directors of healthcare IT consultancy, iSoft IT, in relation to misleading financial statements. The Financial Services Authority has brought charges against accountant Tim Whiston, who was CEO of iSoft, its former finance director John Whelan, Stephen Graham, a partner former commercial director of iSoft, and Patrick Cryne, founder and former non-executive chairman chairman of iSoft. All four face charges for the conspiracy to make misleading statements, and have been summonsed to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 29 January. The charges follow a three-and-a-half-year investigation after iSoft's auditors, Deloitte, flagged up accounting irregularities in the company's 2004 and 2005 accounts, on account of revenues being recognised earlier that they should have. The £1bn Banbury-based company - which held key contracts worth £12bn to develop software government's IT overhaul and to updgrade IT systems within the NHS - for was forced to restate its accounts. Profit warnings by iSoft followed massive delays to the upgrades, as well as a restatement, and subsequent accounting change which wiped £165m of historic profits.