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WH Smith chief executive Carl Cowling has announced his resignation after an investigation into the company's accounts discovered a major oversight in its US division.

An independent review by Deloitte found a number of "shortcomings" which saw the group overstate profits in the States by as much as £50m.

Deloitte’s review found issues with the accounting treatment for supplier income in the US, which it said had "arisen against a backdrop of a target-driven performance culture and decentralised divisional structure combined with a limited level of group oversight of the finance processes in North America".

It also said there were weaknesses in the make-up of the US finance team and "insufficient systems, controls and review procedures for supplier income across commerci

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