Dell has confirmed that US federal regulators have begun a formal investigation into the computer giant.
Dell, which employs some 4,300 people in Ireland, also said it was postponing the release of its third quarter earnings report - scheduled for today - until sometime later in the month.
The company said the earnings report delay was unrelated to the widening Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.
A company spokesman said the company did not know what the SEC was specifically investigating.
Rob Enderle, an analyst for the Enderle Group, said it was too early and there just isn't enough information to know what the implications of the formal investigation could be for Dell.
"This is pretty serious," he said. "It looks like they've got a significant discrepancy that they can't reconcile. My guess is it's something that they misclassified. The thing is, we don't know enough other than that there are problems."
Dell has yet to file its second quarter earnings with federal regulators because it has been trying to resolve unspecified accounting issues with its internal audit committee.
AP