The chief executive officer of Baierl Automotive said Wednesday that a $10 million theft by a former employee has “no direct impact to our business operations.”

Lee Baierl also said that new procedures have been implemented companywide to prevent a similar theft.

Patricia K. Smith, 57, of Cranberry Township pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to one count of wire fraud. She previously was the controller at the Baierl Acura dealership in Wexford.

Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimate more than $10.2 million was stolen over nearly seven years.

Baierl asserted in a news release that the woman was able to commit the fraud and thefts by “inflating vehicle inventory and manipulating records and bank statements.”

Baierl added that while he expects a “significant amount” of money to be recovered by the FBI, he’s anxious to move on from this ordeal.

“We look forward to this case being behind us sometime during the next few months when Ms. Smith will be sentenced for her crime,” he said in the release.

“In the meantime, we have instituted new oversight checks and balances in our accounting processes at each of our locations to prevent this from occurring again.”

Despite the theft of such a large sum of money, his company just came off a record-setting year in sales of inventory, Baierl said.

Smith will be sentenced May 9 in Pittsburgh. She likely faces 5 to 6 years in jail under terms of a plea bargain.