In a statement, the John Dooner-led company said that the audit committee of its board of directors "postponed its regular meeting, which was to have taken place today [Monday August 5], until Monday August 12, so it could complete its review prior to management certification of its financial statements."
Under a new Securities & Exchange Commission rule, chief executives and chief financial officers of the US's top publicly quoted companies must certify the accuracy of their financial statements. The deadline for this certification is August 14, two days before the rescheduled Interpublic announcement.
The announcement made US investors react dramatically, causing the share price to plunge.
Advertising stocks have been under considerable pressure in recent weeks. Shares in Omnicom, already the target of numerous class action suits over the performance of its share price, was down 7%, or $3.58, to $47.21 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Jitters about the advertising marker has crossed the Atlantic this morning as well, with Cordiant Communications slumping 6.52%, or 4.5p, to 64.5p and WPP Group dropping 8.84%, or 38p, to 392p when the markets opened.
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