aggi wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 9:29 am
BDO would be a reasonable shout for auditor, as I said elsewhere I'd be surprised if if was a big 4 for a number of reasons.
I'm not sure if I buy the name recognition and US expertise argument (there's no Sarbox for instance which could have been a big issue). If it is BDO (or a similar one) the UK and US entities are very separate so info will still mainly be by audit questionnaire, etc in order to limit liability.
Taking 6 months (May to November) to appoint new auditors when you are aware of deadlines seems strange. It's something you can normally do in a month or so. My guesses, and they are absolute guesses, is that either work started with Azets for this year and then a late decision to change was made or AML and KYC procedures held up the new engagement (or a combination of both).
As new auditors have accepted their appointment as auditors we can be confident that Azets wrote the letter saying they had no concerns and that there are no accounting issues related to BFC accounts.
We can be confident that the new auditors viewed the issues as surmountable I think would be a more accurate take, I wouldn't hazard a guess as to whether anything was flagged or not.
Hi aggi, I'm not talking about technical stuff like Sarbox, I'm just talking about potential investors wanting to know who BFC's auditors are. A firm that has many offices in the US is much more likely to tick this box than a Nordic firm. Of course, it may well be that the new auditors, whether BDO or another firm, will also be the auditors of the whole ALK (US)/VSP (US) group, including BFC.
I doubt looking at appointing new auditors started in May, there were several much more important things to deal with in May, June, July and August. The last game of the season was 22nd May and, as we all know, the club was relegated. So, priorities: (1) negotiate with MSD on loan repayments; (2) negotiate with Vincent Kompany to appoint him as manager; (3) outgoing transfers to be negotiated; (4) negotiate with Macquarie for loans to cover the deferred parts of outgoing sales; (5) Sort budget for Vincent Kompany's incoming transfers.
I doubt any of us would have been impressed if Alan Pace had explained in his first programme notes in August that the first thing the club had done was appoint new auditors. It comes nowhere near the top of the club's priorities. Getting it done in the background and completed by November is fine in my book. I doubt Azets had started any of the audit for the previous year end by then. Yes, I know y/end date 31st July. But, do you think they'd be rushing into the club over the summer months - the audited accounts have got several months to be be prepared. OK, this year, the club missed the EFL's deadline - but all the important stuff that really matters has been magnificently sorted.
UTC