Ex-Disney accountant alleges major accounting fraud in parks and resorts division

[Magenta Panther]

OH EM GEE
I can't believe this.

I've despised Iger for years and NOW THE CLARA CLUCKS ARE COMING HOME TO ROOST.

YESSSSSS.

 

[Magenta Panther]

We've got someone claiming that Disney manipulated social media to affect the career trajectories of certain individuals yesterday, an article about Disney being reported for fraudulently reporting revenue dropped today, and a forum user claiming to expect a bomb announcement at D23, and that there has also been money laundering in the parks budget. All during the week of AP previews of SW:GE at WDW after the lackluster opening at DL and less than a week prior to D23.

Yeah.

Ain't it great?

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Yeah.

Ain't it great?

Well, I'm not sure yet who/what I believe (although I knew about PR manipulation on social media a long time ago, having been online as long as those entrenched in the Medium article's controversy), so I'm watching with bated breath to see what happens, if anything. One thing is for sure though...I have a hell of a lot to talk about during my Friday night live-feed!

 

[Jedi Stitch]

but,but,but GE did poorly see, that why we only said we had only 325% profit, see right their, that is not an inflated number.

 

[oceanbreeze77]

As someone who has grown to greatly detest the current regime at Disney this is all wonderfully entertaining.

Me watching all of the scandals RN.

 

[danv3]

Honestly this one is far less likely to be true than the one from yesterday.

 

[denyuntilcaught]

As someone else mentioned in this thread, the fact that all of this is coming out the week of D23 is suspicious. Highly. Reeks of "McDonalds committing corporate sabotage against Chipotle" type of sketchiness.

 

[the_rich]

The story about the pr, whether true or not wouldn't surprise me. This would shock me and I doubt it's true. They've been sitting on this for 2 years and then it's gets released right after the pr story and before d23. Seems fishy to me.

 

[alex0c]

The fact that DIS stock still closed positive after this news broke signals that institutional investors, who know how to assess these kinds of accusations, don't seem worried.

It's never a good thing, but even if some aspects are true (i.e. improperly double counting some gift card spend) that's not going to move the needle of a $244 billion company.

 

[Magenta Panther]

As someone who has grown to greatly detest the current regime at Disney this is all wonderfully entertaining.

Amen, brutha!

 

[FigmentForver96]

So do we want to guess tomorrow’s article now? Guesses anyone?

 

[ImperfectPixie]

The story about the pr, whether true or not wouldn't surprise me. This would shock me and I doubt it's true. They've been sitting on this for 2 years and then it's gets released right after the pr story and before d23. Seems fishy to me.

Here's my take on this...depending on when she attempted to report to her superiors - which she claims to have done several times - I could see it being dragged out for a while. She's also been interviewed several times both in person and over the phone by the SEC. Stuff like this doesn't move very quickly, so I'm waiting to see what happens, if anything.

 

[Andrew C]

Amen, brutha!

You realize if this was true, it would negatively impact thousands of CMs across the entire company, right?

And. Yeah. This one is gonna be BS anyways...

 

[Magenta Panther]

You realize if this was true, it would negatively impact thousands of CMs across the entire company, right?

And. Yeah. This one is gonna be BS anyways...

Well, if that happened, I'd feel sorry for the CMs, because they're both awesome and underpaid.

My glee is attached to what might happen to Iger and his minions. They DESERVE to go down. Too bad their fall will likely be cushioned with golden parachutes...

 

[kong1802]

With Sox in place this is near impossible to pull off to the degree it’s being portrayed. It would take a whole lot of collusion between KPMG, TWDC’s internal audit, the board, CFO, higher level accounting managers, and the PCAOB most likely.

Now if it were alleged that revenue was overstated by 10%...perhaps. But that would still require a lot of collusion.

I’m not buying this at all.

 

[Bairstow]

My glee is attached to what might happen to Iger and his minions. They DESERVE to go down.

For?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Quickly looking up the author, she does not seem to be the sort to just toss out flimsy accusations. This isn’t a random blogger self publishing something, but someone who seems to be somewhat respected. She has written for a few different publications and teaches at American University.

 

[RobbinsDad]

It all depends on the spin cycle. If the 6:30 news grabs onto the story they will surely add the drama - possibly attempting to correlate revenue fudging with price hikes. True or not, it could be a headache for TWDC for a while. So far nothing. We'll see.

 

[HmmmmmMMMmm]

 

[wdwfan4ver]

Bye, bye Chapek.

He is not the only chairman of the park this affects.

Chapek was not running the Disney Parks and Resorts division in 2008-2009. Jay Rasulo was the person running the division at the time.

Thomas Staggs was the run in charge of the Disney Parks and resorts between Rasulo and Chapek. It is possible that all 3 could be going to jail besides hire ups such as Iger if there is truth in this.