Zale Corporation: More Executive Casualites (ZLC)

Zale Corporation (NYSE:ZLC) continues to lose executives.

Late Friday, well after market close and when most investors had turned off their screens, Zale announced that Mark Lenz, Group SVP and CFO, had been placed on administrative leave. It appears that Lenz's infraction dates back to a lack of timely disclosure of vendor payment treatments to the outside auditor. The payments had been pushed back from the last two weeks of fiscal year end July 2005 to first week of Aug 2005.

Zale Corporation has experienced a wave of executives leaving for various reasons. The SEC is also investigating accounting practices. But, strangely, the board seems quiet and invulnerable. When so much is rotten, it really is the board's fault and responsibility.

The stock has not performed well in the past year: