ADM postpones some exec bonuses amid accounting probe -memo
By Chris Prentice and Karl Plume
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Archer-Daniels-Midland Co will delay paying performance bonuses to some executives until its financial statements are completed and audited, according to a staff memo seen by Reuters.
The delay, detailed in a memo sent to staff on Thursday, comes days after ADM sidelined its chief financial officer and brought in outside lawyers to launch an investigation into accounting practices last week.
The investigation is focused on the nutrition segment, a relatively small unit of the grains trading giant's business which played an outsized role in executive compensation.
Compensation from ADM's performance incentive plan for members of the company's executive council, including any who retired last year, would be postponed, the note said.
ADM declined to comment. Payments to other employees would be paid in March on the company's normal schedule, according to the staff memo.
The executive council includes several top executives and heads of other ADM businesses. Reuters could not determine exactly how many people are on the council.
According to the company's website detailing what it calls its Senior Leadership, of the 19 people listed, 14 are cited as being members of the executive council in their biographies.News of the investigation into accounting practices sent ADM shares tumbling 24% on Jan. 22, the biggest fall since 1929, according to the Center for Research in Security Prices.
ADM has delayed the release of its full-year 2023 financial results until further notice.
The probe focuses on ADM's Nutrition reporting segment and «intersegment transactions,» the company has said. It started after ADM received a request for information from the U.S. Securities and
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