US cereal maker General Mills has revealed that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether the company may have supplied customers with excess inventory in order to inflate its quarterly sales results.

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General Mills said in early February that the company, its chief executive officer and its chief financial officer may face charges related to an SEC investigation into the company’s sales practices and related accounting.


General Mills has now revealed further details of the probe, saying the SEC believes the company does not properly disclose the practice of ‘loading’ at the end of fiscal quarters to help meet sales targets, reported Reuters.


The SEC is also looking into whether the company misstated its policy on product returns, General Mills said.


The company said it cannot predict how long the investigation will go on or whether any charges will be brought against the company.

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