Careful when writing for Detour - being sued by the SEC may keep your paychecks from being mailed.

November 24, 2000 - 13-year old Detour magazine's attention may not be on business as usual, like sending out writers' paychecks. Being investigated by the U.S. government's powerful Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can do that to you.

In addition to being in the middle of an internal reorganization, Detour's management is negotiating with the SEC over possible deceptive accounting practices in 1997 and 1998.

Detour was told last March that it could face enforcement action challenging the accuracy of its quarterly financial statements in those years.

"After discussions between the SEC staff and counsel to Detour and Edward Stein, the magazine's chairman, the company submitted an offer of settlement of this matter," the company said in a quarterly earnings statement filed with the SEC.

All this can be overwhelming for a small company and may impact the daily processes at the office; processes such as sending out checks for accepted articles on time. Be aware and make your own decisions whether to query Detour at this time.