PC manufacturer Dell has delayed filing its fiscal second-quarter financial report and suspended its share repurchase programme due to a federal accounting investigation.
The company said it could not file the quarterly report because of "questions raised" by an informal Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into accounting issues and a subsequent internal inquiry.
The company also said the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York had subpoenaed documents related to its financial reporting from 2002 to the present.
Dell said investigations have shown that the company may have mis-stated prior financial reports, including issues relating to accruals, reserves and other balance sheet items, which may affect previously reported financial results.
Dell shares dropped 16 cents to $21.49 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. That is near the lower end of their 52-week range of $18.95 to $35.25 and is down 28 per cent since the end of 2005.
Dell said it has not yet determined the material impact of any of the accounting issues.
"We are fully co-operating with the investigations and working to resolve any and all issues raised in connection with those investigations as quickly as possible, and we will take any appropriate remedial or corrective actions to address any problems," Chairman Michael Dell said in a statement.
The company said it plans to file the second-quarter report as soon as possible but did not offer a timetable.