OfficeMax CFO resigns, earnings report delayed, employees fired

CHICAGO — OfficeMax Inc. announced the resignation of its new chief financial officer on Wednesday and said its fourth-quarter earnings report will be delayed because of accounting problems, compounding recent financial turmoil at the nation’s No. 3 office products retailer.

The latest dose of bad news sent shares in the company down $1.42, or 5 percent, to $28.88 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange — 24 percent off its 52-week high of $38.01 reached last June.

The company declined to cite a reason for the departure of Brian Anderson, who had held the job only since November. But the resignation came as it fired four employees as the result of an ongoing internal investigation which it said confirmed a vendor’s complaint that some bills were falsified.

OfficeMax, which disclosed the investigation last month, said employees fabricated supporting documentation for about $3.3 million in claims billed to the company in 2003-04. It said the review has been expanded to look at other payments and might last until late February, when it now intends to issue fourth-quarter and full-year earnings that were originally scheduled for release Jan. 20.

Former CFO Ted Crumley is returning to the post on an interim basis while OfficeMax seeks a permanent replacement.

Anderson, who was ousted as chief financial officer at Baxter International Inc. last June in a management shake-up, would have been required to certify OfficeMax’s financial statements for the year under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which holds CFOs and CEOs criminally liable for inaccuracies.

Attempts to reach Anderson for comment were unsuccessful.