CA Inc. (NYSE: CA), the software company formerly known as Computer Associates, last week began to speak out against founder Charles Wang about two years too late.

Under Wang's leadership, Computer Associates developed a reputation for accounting shenanigans, shoddy customer service and obscenely high executive compensation, which is why a special board committee urged CA to try and recoup some of Wang's pay. The company should take the advice.

Wang, who also owns the New York Islanders, has denied any wrongdoing. The New York Times reported that he blames CA's problems on his successor Sanjay Kumar, one of many company executives who pled guilty to securities fraud following a federal investigation.

Considering how close the two men were and Wang's autocratic management style, Wang's denials are hard to believe. If this fight goes to court, this will get nasty very quickly. CA has tried for years to undo the damage done by Wang and his associates. The New York Times pointed that the company has had to spend $500 million on fines ad internal investigations.

Sanjay Kumar, a young guy at 44-years-old, will now spend the next 12 years in prison.

While CEO of CA, Inc. (NYSE:CA), Kumar got too loosey-goosey with the accounting, so much that the company had to change its name because of the bad publicity. Originally, the company was called Computer Associates. In all, the fraud amounted to about $2.2 billion in misrepresentations.

Kumar's shenanigans were quite creative, actually. For example, he had the concept of a 35-day month. This is always useful to squeeze in more sales. There was also backdating of contracts (i.e., if the month was not long enough).

The irony is that CA is a leader in software to help companies deal with things like, well, accounting and disclosures. Hey, who better to know how to make magic with the financials?

True, 12 years is a long time, but Kumar will still be young when he gets out of prison. Besides, his fine is a mere $8 million.

In fact, because of his crimes, Kumar could have received a life sentence. I guess the judge thinks $2.2 billion is kind of a small number.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.