Thor Industries: Difficulty Sticking to the Basics

Another interesting restatement in the works, though much farther along in progress, belongs to Thor Industries (THO).

In January, the manufacturer of various brands of recreational vehicles announced problems with the accounting for inventory, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and cost of goods sold at its Dutchmen Manufacturing subsidiary. For the time being, the company has tracked down its total misstatement of net income to a level of $16 million; the periods to which that $16 million haven’t been finalized yet. They’ve barred reliance on their financial statements as far back as fiscal year 2004, however.

Recent flawed financials show the difficulty companies have with simply sticking to the basics: none of the issues relate to “complex” accounting standards.

THO 1-yr chart