ADM Executive Bonuses Delayed Amidst Accounting Probe, Leaked Memo Reveals: Report

According to a leaked memo, Archer-Daniels-Midland Co (NYSE:ADM) has decided to postpone the payment of performance bonuses to some of its executives. The decision comes in the wake of an ongoing investigation into the company’s accounting practices.

What Happened: ADM, a major grains trading company, has put a hold on the payment of performance bonuses to some of its executives until the completion and auditing of its financial statements. This decision was communicated to the staff through a memo on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The delay in bonuses follows the recent sidelining of the company’s chief financial officer and the initiation of an investigation into its accounting practices. The investigation is primarily focused on the nutrition segment, a relatively small unit of ADM’s business that has had a significant impact on executive compensation.

ADM declined Benzinga's request for comment. 

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While the payments to other employees will be made in March as per the regular schedule, the bonuses for the executive council members, including those who retired last year, will be postponed.

The investigation into ADM’s accounting practices has had a significant impact on the company’s financials and operations. The news of the probe led to a 24% drop in ADM shares, the largest fall since 1929, according to the Center for Research in Security Prices.

ADM has also delayed the release of its full-year 2023 financial results until further notice. The investigation, which began after ADM received a request for information from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, focuses on the Nutrition reporting segment and “intersegment transactions.”

The investigation is particularly significant as a change in ADM’s Compensation and Succession Committee in 2020 tied half of long-term executive compensation to the operating profit growth of the Nutrition segment.

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