SEC Charges Utility Company Entergy Corp. with Internal Accounting Controls Violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Entergy Corporation, a Louisiana-based utility company, agreed to pay a $12 million civil penalty to settle charges that it failed to maintain internal accounting controls to ensure that its surplus materials and supplies were accurately recorded in its books and financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). According to the SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, from at least mid-2018 to the present, Entergy included materials and supplies at their average cost as an asset on its balance sheets. However, during this time, Entergy had allegedly been informed by its employees and management consultants that this asset included a substantial amount of potential surplus, including aged materials and supplies in excess of Entergy’s anticipated future use or exceeding the maximum stocking levels deemed necessary by its business units.