Toshiba’s CEO, Hisao Tanaka, and several other senior officials have resigned from their roles in an accounting scandal.

An independent inquiry found that the CEO had been aware that the company had inflated its profits by $1.2bn (£706m) over several years.

Vice chairman Norio Sasaki and adviser Atsutoshi Nishida will also step down after the report showed they played a part in the overstatement of profits going as far back as 2008.

A total of eight board members have resigned and, according to newswire Reuters, the company is now considering appointing outside directors to over half its board seats.

Tanaka and Sasaki pressured business divisions to meet difficult targets and knew they were overstating profits and delaying the reporting of losses, amid a culture of not going against the wishes of superiors, the report said.

Tanaka will temporarily be replaced by chairman Masashi Muromachi.

The company will release its delayed business results next month for the financial year ending March 2015.

The report is expected to lead to the restatement of earnings and potentially hefty fines in Japan’s worst boardroom scandal since Olympus Corp was found to have covered up $1.7bn in losses.

Rating Agency Standard & Poor’s said that the required restatement of Toshiba’s profit could lead to its credit rating being downgraded.