Macy’s says one employee hid up to $154 million in expenses: NPR

Cars park in front of a Macy’s store at Bay Fair Mall in San Leandro, California on February 27, 2024.

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A former Macy’s employee allegedly hid up to $154 million in delivery costs for nearly three years, the retailer announced Monday.

Macy’s said it identified a problem with delivery costs in an accrual account and launched an independent investigation, according to a preliminary report on the results of the third quarter. The employee who handled billing of the company’s small package delivery costs “intentionally made inaccurate accrual entries” to account for $132 million to $154 million in cumulative delivery costs from the fourth quarter of 2021 through the fiscal quarter ended November 2, 2024 , to hide. the company said.

During that period, the retailer said it recorded $4.36 billion in delivery costs, adding that there was “no indication that the deferred accrual accounting errors” impacted cash management or payments to suppliers from Macy’s. The employee is no longer with Macy’s and the investigation revealed that no other employees were involved, according to the company.

Macy’s said it discovered the error earlier this month as the company prepared its financial statements for the third quarter, which ended Nov. 2. As a result of the incident, Macy’s delayed the release of its third quarter results “pending the completion of the independent investigation.”

A full report on quarterly financial results and fourth-quarter outlook is expected by Dec. 11, the company said.

“At Macy’s, Inc., we promote a culture of ethical behavior,” CEO Tony Spring said in a statement. “While we work diligently to complete the investigation as quickly as possible and ensure this matter is handled appropriately, our colleagues across the company are focused on serving our customers and executing our strategy for a successful holiday season.”