The Trial Balance is CFO’s weekly preview of stories, stats and events to help you prepare.
Part 1 — Former Macy’s accounting employee hid $154 million
Macy’s delayed its third-quarter earnings report because of fudged numbers in its delivery expense department. According to the retailer, an unnamed and now terminated staff member who oversaw the accounting of small package delivery expenses “intentionally made erroneous accounting accrual entries” over nearly three years, totaling up to $154 million.
After an independent investigation and an internal forensic analysis during preparation efforts for their upcoming financial performance update, the company found $132 to $154 million unaccounted for cumulative delivery expenses from the fourth quarter of 2021 through the fiscal quarter ending Nov. 2, 2024. The employee responsible was then subsequently fired.
The company also said its investigations concluded the employee was not aided by any other finance team staff. While Macy’s CFO Adrian Mitchell, who also serves as chief operating officer, has yet to comment, CEO Tony Spring made clear his focus is on reducing the distraction of the expense team’s woes during their busy holiday season.
“At Macy’s, we promote a culture of ethical conduct. While we work diligently to complete the investigation as soon as practicable 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,” Spring said.
A breakdown of financial controls within the company may stem from its efforts to cut costs. The company has struggled to keep stores open, possibly resulting in increased pressure within finance and more delegation of responsibilities.
Macy’s will report its latest earnings for Q4 and their 2025 outlooks in the next earnings call, now scheduled for Dec. 11.
Part 2 — This Week
Here’s a list of important market events slated for the week ahead.
Monday, Nov. 25 — None scheduled
Tuesday, Nov. 26
Wednesday, Nov. 27
- Initial jobless claims, week of Nov. 23
- Durable goods orders, Oct.
- Advanced retail inventories, Oct.
- GDP (first revision), Q3
- PCE index, Oct.
- Core PCE index, Oct.
Thursday, Nov. 28 — None scheduled, Thanksgiving holiday
Friday, Nov. 29
- Chicago Business Barometer (PMI), Nov.
Part 3 — The CFO/CHRO partnership, pay expectation by age and CFOs On the Move
This week, CFO.com will publish a story on building the CFO and chief human resources office relationship (11/26), a story on the latest salary expectation breakdown by generations based on a new survey from Empower (11/26) and a new edition of the CFOs On the Move column (11/27).
