NEWS: Macy’s shares fell nearly 5 percent Monday morning after the release of its third-quarter results was delayed due to an intentional accounting error by an employee.
The department’s Department of Defense said an independent investigation found that a single employee “willfully” made false accounting records to hide a total of $154 million over a nearly three-year period.
It represented less than four percent of the total revenue at the time.
Macy’s said the employee is no longer with the company and there was no indication of a breach affecting cash management functions or vendor payments.
However, an analyst told Reuters that it looks bad for the company, as it looks like a trader who has been affected by this, but the amount is small.
The surprise announcement deprived the market of an important view of the Bellwether department ahead of a potentially uncertain holiday season.
Macy’s released preliminary sales figures for the position, which were lower than Wall Street’s expectations, and said it expects to release its full third quarter report on December 11.