World Wrestling Entertainment said former chairman and CEO Vince McMahon incurred unrecorded expenses totaling about $14.6 million and that the company will be reviewing its financial statements for 2019, 2020 and 2021 to reflect those expenses, which will be paid personally by McMahon.
Previous reports indicate that some of the payments went to a departing employee with whom McMahon allegedly had an affair. McMahon announced his retirement from WWE on Friday.
The company said an investigation into alleged misconduct by McMahon remains ongoing.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, WWE said the payments might not be material in any of the quarters in which they occurred, but if taken as a group, they would be material in the most recent quarter.
The company said it hoped to complete the review and issue financial statements by August 9, but it said there was no assurance it would be able to meet that deadline.
“In light of the Unrecorded Expenses and related facts, the company expects to conclude that its internal control over financial reporting was not effective as a result of one or more material weaknesses,” WWE said. “The company continues to evaluate the appropriate accounting treatment for the Unrecorded Expenses, as well as its internal control over financial reporting and its ultimate conclusions on these topics may differ from what the company currently anticipates.” ■
