Macy’s revealed new details about an employee who hid millions of dollars to cover up a mistake. The company said what started as a single mistake led to years of cover-up.
In November, the company discovered an employee intentionally entered erroneous accounting figures to hide about $151 million of delivery expenses.
The employee told investigators they mistakenly understated the number of small package deliveries in 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported. The employee tried to mask the error with nearly three years of incorrect accounting entries and falsified documents.
Chairman and CEO of Macy’s Tony Spring confirmed the worker intended to hide the mistake and not steal the money. Spring said the company is strengthening its policies and procedures to prevent this from happening again.
The investigation forced Macy’s to delay its third-quarter earnings report as it worked to conclude its investigation. The company released its numbers Wednesday, Dec. 11.
Net sales dropped 2.4% to $4.7 billion. Macy’s shares also fell 10% early in the day.
In February, the department store chain announced that it would shut down 150 stores over the next three years. At least 55 stores will close by the end of this year.
