Earlier this week, I did a blog entry looking at allegations from a former Halliburton employee that the world's second-largest oilfield-services company had artificially inflated its revenues through accounting trickery.

I received a tersely worded email from Halliburton spokeswoman Cathy Mann this morning telling me that the claims were just wrong. I guess I'm off their Christmas card list.

For the record, here's her statement:

"The allegations were thoroughly reviewed by the Audit Committee of the Company's Board of Directors which directed an independent investigation, and these findings, along with those from thorough reviews by the Company's external audit firm, all concluded that the allegations were without merit and that the Company's accounting for these matters was in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

"The Securities and Exchange Commission also reviewed the matter and we were advised by the SEC that their inquiry has been terminated.

"In a letter dated April 30, 2007, Halliburton received notification from the SEC that "...we have again decided to terminate the investigation and not to recommend any enforcement action to the Commission."

"Separately, the employee filed a retaliation complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor; this complaint also was investigated and determined by that agency to be without merit. While the former employee has since filed an appeal of the DOL's decision to dismiss the matter, we expect that the Company will prevail when it comes to trial before an administrative law judge later this year."

It should be noted that booking revenue from bill-and-hold transactions is not necessarily improper. But let's not forget that some companies have misused this practice to artificially inflate their earnings. Halliburton would insist it's not one of the them and would say it can prove that.