Baxter (NYSE:BAX) announced today in an SEC filing that it will have to delay reporting its third-quarter financial results as it continues an internal probe into its foreign exchange trading practices.
The Deerfield, Ill.–based healthcare products company said it was unable to predict when it would file its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30 — or when the investigation would end. Baxter previously said that the transactions under investigation “resulted in certain misstatements” in the reporting of non-operating income from foreign exchange gains.
The problem involves transactions using a foreign exchange rate convention historically applied by the company that was not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The transactions ” enabled intra-company transactions to be undertaken after the related exchange rates were already known.”
Baxter said today that it had independent, experienced external advisors assisting the investigation, overseen by the audit committee of the company’s board of directors.
