A Macy's employee was responsible for multiple accounting irregularities that delayed the release of its quarterly earnings report, the company said. The American retailer presented preliminary financial results on Tuesday, CNN reported.
Macy's is the largest American department store chain by US retail sales.
As CNN reported, Macy's recently revealed that an employee intentionally hid up to $154 million in expenses over nearly three years. This prompted the seller to conduct an independent accounting investigation. The employee, who Macy's said is no longer with the company, allegedly “intentionally made false accounting entries” to hide the costs of shipping the small packages.
Macy's did not say why the employee concealed the expenses.
Macy's employee hid $154 million in expenses
The amount was a small fraction of $4.36 billion in shipping costs from the fourth quarter of 2021, but Macy's said the errors were enough to delay reporting full quarterly earnings. The company added that “there is no indication that incorrect accounting records affected cash management activities or payments from suppliers,” the American portal wrote.
He added that the company's investigation identified only one former employee. Investigators did not find any other employees who may have been involved in making the false accounting records.
– At Macy's, Inc. We promote the culture of moral behavior. Macy's CEO Tony Spring said in a statement: “While we are working diligently to investigate and resolve this issue as quickly as possible, our colleagues across the company remain focused on serving our customers and executing on our holiday season strategy.” .
The accounting issues have not reassured investors, who have seen Macy's shares fall nearly 20% this year. – said CNN.
Macy's New York Shutterstock
“The accounting problem raises questions about the competence of the company's auditors,” Neil Saunders, retail analyst and managing director of GlobalData Retail, told CNN. In his opinion, “such things make investors nervous who are already worried about the company's results.”
Macy's released its preliminary earnings report and revealed that quarterly sales fell 2.4%. To 4.7 billion dollars due to the deterioration of performance in digital channels, reports CNN.
He added that the low activity of the seller “given that the market is not in the best situation. It is predictable. According to Saunders, “the company is in crisis.”
Shares of Macy's were down about 3%. at the opening – the American portal showed.
Main image source: Shutterstock
