Accounting investigation under way at ADM and its top financial executive has been placed on leave

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<p>FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 31, 2015, photo, the Archer Daniels Midland Company logo is seen at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill. An accounting investigation is under way at Archer Daniels Midland and the top financial executive at the agribusiness giant has been placed on administrative leave. The company postponed the release of its annual and quarterly financial reports that were scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, and shares of the Chicago company tumbled 12% before the opening bell Monday.(AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)</p> PHOTO CREDIT: Seth Perlman

FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 31, 2015, photo, the Archer Daniels Midland Company logo is seen at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill. An accounting investigation is under way at Archer Daniels Midland and the top financial executive at the agribusiness giant has been placed on administrative leave. The company postponed the release of its annual and quarterly financial reports that were scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, and shares of the Chicago company tumbled 12% before the opening bell Monday.(AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

PHOTO CREDIT: Seth Perlman
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Posted By: The Associated Press January 22, 2024

CHICAGO — An accounting investigation is under way at Archer Daniels Midland and the top financial executive at the agribusiness giant has been placed on administrative leave.

The company postponed the release of its annual and quarterly financial reports that were scheduled for Tuesday and shares of the Chicago company tumbled 12% before the opening bell.

The company also adjusted its earnings expectations for the year. After projecting per-share earnings of $7 for 2023 in October, the company now says it expects earnings of more than $6.90 per share.

ADM said that an investigation was initiated in response to a voluntary document request by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said late Sunday that it’s cooperating with the SEC.

“The board takes these matters very seriously,” Terry Crews, lead director, said in a prepared statement. “Pending the outcome of the investigation, the board determined that it was advisable to place Mr. Luthar on administrative leave.”

ADM said it’s working with outside counsel and the audit committee of the company board to complete the investigation quickly.

ADM named Ismael Roig as interim CFO. Roig joined ADM in 2004.

ADM was the subject of a nonfiction book titled “The Informant” in 2000, and an ensuing film starring Matt Damon, about a 1990s price-fixing scheme for the the animal feed additive lysine. Three ADM executives were convicted and the company paid about $100 million in fines.

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