Trump Media hired a new auditor after its old one got in trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC accused the previous auditor, BF Borgers CPA, of not doing real audits for the companies it worked with. This affected over 1,500 filings for public companies.
The owner of Truth Social, which is part of Trump Media, fired BF Borgers CPA after this accusation. Trump Media then hired Semple, Marchal & Cooper LLP to replace them.
BF Borgers and its owner were banned from auditing public companies because of this. So, Trump Media and other companies that used BF Borgers needed to find new auditors.
Trump Media said the decision to change auditors was made with the approval of its Audit Committee. Former President Donald Trump owns 65% of Trump Media’s stock.
Trump Media hasn’t decided yet if the new auditor, Semple, Marchal & Cooper, will check the work done by BF Borgers to see if it followed the rules properly.
Semple, Marchal & Cooper is known for being a respected accounting firm that’s been around for four decades.
The SEC called BF Borgers a “sham audit mill” because it didn’t do proper audits. This affected filings for over 500 companies.
BF Borgers agreed to pay $14 million in penalties. Trump Media wasn’t publicly traded at the time of BF Borgers’ misconduct, but they were Trump Media’s auditors during that period.
The SEC said that companies using BF Borgers’ reports might not need to change their filings because of the SEC’s order. But they should check if there are any problems.
Trump Media said there were no disagreements with BF Borgers about accounting or auditing during 2022 and 2023.
