Dive Brief:
- An internal investigation has found that a small group of employees, acting deliberately, caused the $402 million accounting shortfall at Tesco, according to two British newspapers.
- Tesco declined to comment on the reports, which said workers manipulated the books in order to make finances look better at the retailer than they actually were.
- Tesco has promised to release the results of its investigation on Thursday when it reports earnings.
Dive Insight:
The worst bit of news in this latest revelation involving the grocer's accounting woes is that the problems at Tesco have been going for for quite some time (although they accelerated in recent months). That's not likely to calm investors, who no doubt hoped — despite the escalating nature of the investigation — that the accounting shortfall was a one-time, easily remedied mistake.