Inquiry launched into Tesco’s £250 million accounting discrepancies discovered

Tesco has launched an investigation and suspended four executives after overstating its half-hear profit guidance by £250 million.

The investigation is headed by Deloitte, with the company hoping to establish the extent of the accounting discrepancies and the impact they will have on the full year’s financial results.

Deloitte will be working alongside Tesco’s external legal advisers, Freshfields, in their investigations.

Shares in the supermarket giant fell 8% in early trading after the issues were reported.

The four executives suspended by the company include UK managing director Chris Bush, with Tesco’s multi-channel director stepping in to run the UK leadership team in the interim.

In a statement, Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said:

“We have uncovered a serious issue and have responded accordingly. The Chairman and I have acted quickly to establish a comprehensive independent investigation. The Board, my colleagues, our customers and I expect Tesco to operate with integrity and transparency and we will take decisive action as the results of the investigation become clear.”

As a result of the issues, Tesco has delayed the release of its interim results from 1 October to 23 October.