It wasn’t an IPO, it was an existing company acquiring Truth Social. And yes, it has everything to do with that massive valuation.
If Truth Social had done an actual IPO, their financials would have been subject to public scrutiny ahead of time and the IPO would likely have never gone forward. But since this was an acquisition, much of that financial due diligence was solely the responsibility of the acquiring company. So all of that stuff could remain secret until after the fact.
The penalty doesn’t state that any particular companies’ filings had incorrect data, though. It just says that the auditor said it followed standard accounting practices, when it did not. And it happened with 1500 different filings, of which Trump Media was only one. Still, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the reason why this auditor ignored those standards, they might have gotten in the way of the pre-determined result they wanted to get for their clients
Slight correction, Truth Social was one of more than 500 companies with more than 1,500 fraudulent reports generated. Not one of 1,500 companies. SEC Reports usually include quarterly 10-Q and annual 10-K forms, among others, that are heavily monitored by investors, which is why the regulation on their accuracy is very strict.
Unless I missed where it says it in the article, does this have anything to do with the ludicrously high IPO that it had?
It wasn’t an IPO, it was an existing company acquiring Truth Social. And yes, it has everything to do with that massive valuation.
If Truth Social had done an actual IPO, their financials would have been subject to public scrutiny ahead of time and the IPO would likely have never gone forward. But since this was an acquisition, much of that financial due diligence was solely the responsibility of the acquiring company. So all of that stuff could remain secret until after the fact.
The penalty doesn’t state that any particular companies’ filings had incorrect data, though. It just says that the auditor said it followed standard accounting practices, when it did not. And it happened with 1500 different filings, of which Trump Media was only one. Still, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the reason why this auditor ignored those standards, they might have gotten in the way of the pre-determined result they wanted to get for their clients
Slight correction, Truth Social was one of more than 500 companies with more than 1,500 fraudulent reports generated. Not one of 1,500 companies. SEC Reports usually include quarterly 10-Q and annual 10-K forms, among others, that are heavily monitored by investors, which is why the regulation on their accuracy is very strict.
Here’s the “parent company” if anyone is interested:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_World_Acquisition_Corp.
Indirectly it means they sought out the shadiest auditors around.
Directly it remains to be seen.