For nearly a decade, General Electric’s quarterly earnings reports hummed along as reliably as one of its jet engines, meeting or slightly beating analyst consensus. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s contention that what looked to investors like a smooth glide path involved four adjustments to the earnings throttle in 2002 and 2003 raises troubling issues. The $50m fine and even an additional $200m in legal and accounting expenses are merely a rounding error for a company of GE’s size, but questions about its accounting come at an inopportune time.

GE’s top executives, chief executive Jeff Immelt and chief financial officer Keith Sherin, have struggled for months to reassure investors about its GE Capital unit.