In a filing to the US Securities & Exchange Commission on 14 June, Papa John’s International, Inc. reported that it had dismissed KPMG LLP as its auditor and had hired Ernst & Young LLP, which had previously served as auditor in 2017.
The switch follows on from a delay to the publication of the company’s annual report for the year to end-December 2018. KPMG reported that it had found the company ‘did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting’, specifically in relation to ‘ineffective controls over not engaging appropriate technical expertise to evaluate variable interest entity and consolidation matters resulting in the failure to consolidate the Papa John’s Marketing Fund, Inc. (PJMF) which also resulted in not maintaining effective controls over financial reporting related to PJMF’.
KPMG’s audit did not contain any adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor was it qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principles.
