By Jordan Valinsky, CNN

New York (CNN) — Macy’s announced Monday that a single employee was responsible for so many accounting irregularities that the company was forced to delay the release of its quarterly earnings report, which the retailer had planned to release Tuesday.

The company recently discovered that the unnamed employee intentionally hid up to $154 million in expenses over a period of nearly three years, prompting the retailer to conduct an independent forensic accounting investigation. The employee, who Macy’s says is no longer with the company, “intentionally made erroneous accounting entries” to hide small package delivery charges.

Macy’s did not explain why the employee hid the expenses.

Although the questionable expenses represent only a small fraction of the $4.36 billion in delivery expenses recorded by Macy’s between the fourth quarter of 2021 and its most recent period, Macy’s found that the errors were significant enough to delay the publication of its full quarterly results until December 11. The company said there was “no indication that the erroneous accounting entries had any impact on the company’s cash management activities or supplier payments.”

So far, the company’s investigation involves only one former employee. Investigators found no other employees who may have participated in creating the false accounting entries.

“At Macy’s, Inc., we promote a culture of ethical conduct,” Macy’s CEO Tony Spring said in a statement. “While we work diligently to complete the investigation as quickly as possible and ensure this matter is handled appropriately, our colleagues across the company are focused on serving our clients and executing of our strategy for a successful holiday season.”

The accounting problems won’t help appease investors who have sent Macy’s shares down nearly 20% this year.

The accounting issue “raises the question of the competence of the company’s auditors,” Neil Saunders, a retail analyst and managing director of GlobalData Retail, told CNN. “Things like this create even more nervousness among investors who are already worried about the company’s performance.”

Macy’s released a preliminary earnings report Monday and revealed that its quarterly sales fell 2.4% to $4.7 billion due to weakness in its digital channels and cold weather categories as the country knew his warmest autumn on average.

The retailer’s sales decline is “expected given that the mid-market isn’t great and Macy’s is far from leading in all of its stores.” But it nevertheless highlights the fact that the business overall is in decline,” Saunders said.

The company identified hundreds of stores which it plans to close as part of a recovery plan. Stores that the company plans to keep open performed slightly better, but their sales still fell.

Bloomingdale’s fared better: sales at these high-end stores increased 1.4%. Bluemercury sales increased 3.2%.

The 165-year-old retailer in July talks rejected with private investors who are trying to take over the business and chose to pursue its own strategy to remake the channel.

Macy’s stock (Mr.) fell almost 3% at the opening.

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