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Experts and officials are questioning Apple’s stated reasons behind its proposed $1.99 fee to enable faster wireless technology in some already shipped Macs. The company on Thursday confirmed that it will charge users a small fee to enable the new, faster 802.11n wireless technology in its previously shipped Core 2 Duo-based Macs, saying that the charges were required to stay in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (a.k.a, GAAP).

“GAAP doesn’t require you to charge squat,” says Lynn Turner, managing director of research at Glass Lewis & Co. and a former chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission told The Wall Street Journal. “You charge whatever you want. GAAP doesn’t even remotely address whether or not you charge for a significant functionality change. GAAP establishes what the proper accounting is, based on what you did or didn’t charge for it.”

MacNN:Apple’s 802.11n accounting conundrum

It’s all Enron’s fault that Apple will apparently charge $5 to make a recent Mac’s AirPort Express Wi-Fi adaptor connect to other 802.11n-enabled devices. The fee arises from accounting rules imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act put in place after collapse of the energy company in 2001.

According to Apple insiders cited by iPod site iLounge, if Apple gives the update away for free, it violates Sarbanes-Oxley.

RegHardware: Apple’s alleged 802.11n enabler fee: blame Enron etc.