Former Myer CEO Bernie Brookes’ misleading forecasts to investors, for which the company is currently embroiled in a multi-million dollar class action claim, were apparently approved by the department store’s board, and rehearsed multiple times, according to AFR.

“I recall that I left the meeting with a decision to provide guidance of net profit and sales growth,” Brookes said in court on Friday.

“I don’t recall the discussion that took place. I just recall that we were going to provide sales and net profit guidance, which was then provided some three times during the analysts’ presentation and to the media.”

Brookes said that if the information he provided had contradicted what the board had approved, they would have approached him, but they did not.

Brookes’ testimony contradicted then-chairman Paul McClintock, who two days earlier said that “there [was] a difference between what the board decided and what Bernie [Brookes] did the following day.”

What is not in doubt is the fact that six months after Brookes’ forecast, Myer’s leadership provided an update to the market that did not meet the claims made by the former CEO, leading shares to plummet.

At the time, Myer’s leadership said they had expected to meet the targeted profit window “until the day before” the update was released.

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