Reuters reports that Royal Ahold is now saying that despite reports last week that only two executives at its US Foodservice division had been implicated in the accounting scandal that resulted in $880 million in overstated profits, it continues an internal forensic investigation that could reveal additional guilty parties.
Last week, the company said that two executives, Mark P. Kaiser, chief marketing officer, and Timothy Lee, executive vice president for purchasing, had been fired, while CEO James Miller had been cleared of any wrongdoing or knowledge of other people's wrongdoing.
However, external investigations into the company's accounting practices continue, with separate probes being conducted by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to The Washington Post, those investigations are specifically looking at executives who supervised Kaiser and Lee.
Last week, the company said that two executives, Mark P. Kaiser, chief marketing officer, and Timothy Lee, executive vice president for purchasing, had been fired, while CEO James Miller had been cleared of any wrongdoing or knowledge of other people's wrongdoing.
However, external investigations into the company's accounting practices continue, with separate probes being conducted by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to The Washington Post, those investigations are specifically looking at executives who supervised Kaiser and Lee.
- KC's View:
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Perhaps the folks at Ahold realized how foolish it looked for the company to be blaming two executives for financial chicanery on this scale…especially when it seems likely that federal probes will reveal other guilty parties.
Tomorrow ought to be an interesting day at Ahold, as its supervisory board gets together to discuss recent events, including a review of Miller's status with the company. Following that will be the company's annual shareholders' meeting, which should produce its own share of fireworks.
As Bette Davis once said, "fasten your seat belts…it's going to be a bumpy night."
