Hong Lu is the second senior UTStarcom exec to step down in recent months UTStarcom’s top executive is stepping down with the company’s finances in disarray and auditors investigating its accounting procedures, the company announced Wednesday.Hong Lu, UTStarcom’s chairman and chief executive officer, told the board of directors Monday that he’ll leave his posts at the end of this year. He is the second senior executive to step down in recent months, following the May 5 departure of Chief Operating Officer Mike Sophie.Lu’s resignation followed the announcement in late April that UTStarcom would miss the deadline for filing its first quarter results for 2006. His planned departure marks the end of an era at UTStarcom, a once high-flying telecommunication equipment vendor that he helped to found. Trouble began brewing for UTStarcom in February. At that time, the company revealed auditors were investigating how it booked revenue from a 2002 deal in India. That deal, with an unnamed customer, was worth around $22 million with a total gross margin of less than $1 million.As auditors expanded their investigation to include other transactions, UTStarcom twice delayed filing its 2005 annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a result, the Nasdaq stock exchange threatened to delist the company.Last month, UTStarcom asked Nasdaq for permission to extend the filing deadline for its annual report until June 1. Nasdaq has yet to respond to that request, which permits UTStarcom to continue trading pending a final verdict. Ying Wu, the current head of UTStarcom’s operations in China, will replace Lu as CEO on Jan. 1, 2007. Tom Toy, an independent director, will take over as chairman. Technology Industry