Britain's largest supermarket chain Tesco will begin a probe of its accounting practices after they were found inflating their fist half profit figures.

Tesco suspended its U.K. Chief along with three other executives while the probe is being carried out,

Tesco's shares dived to as much as 12 percent, its lowest price in more than a decade. This year, the company's stock lost 36 percent of its value and in its 5th year of continuous annual decline. The drop is price was following the announcement of Tesco that there were some income booked before they earned it and that the costs were recognized before it was incurred resulting to a projected 250 million pounds over the correct estimate which was 1.1 billion pounds.

Chief Executive Officer Dave Lewis encouraged Tesco employees to do their share and help to control corporate decline. Lewis has only been in office for a month, replacing former CEO Phil Clarke who was removed from office.

Lewis said in a statement that they have "uncovered a serious issue and have responded accordingly. We will take decisive action as the results of the investigation become clear." An independent review will be conducted by Deloitte LLP with the help of Tesco's legal adviser Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. Deloitte is the largest professional services network in the world which provides audit, tax, consulting, risk and financial advisorty to its clients.

The company has lowered its profit estimate for the third time in the last couple of months. This has a negative effect on the company since the investors will be losing confidence in Tesco's capability to control its internal affairs. An accounting error is a significant mistake and can lead investors to think that they were misled with the wrong information.

Tesco is a multinational chain of grocery and general merchandise retailer based in England, United Kingdom. It is the world's second larget retailer and is present in 12 countries in Asia, Europe and North America.

Tesco is currently listed on the London Stock Exchange.