Urban One has once again changed accounting firms amid a multi-year effort by the broadcaster to address and stabilize its financial reporting processes. The company has dismissed Ernst & Young and retained PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The switch to PwC marks a new chapter for a story that began nearly two years ago when Urban One parted ways with BDO in July 2023. That move followed significant delays and errors surrounding the company’s 2022 financial disclosures, which nearly led to Urban One being delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Although E&Y issued clean audit reports for the fiscal years ending 2023 and 2024 with no adverse opinions or qualifications, Urban One reports to the SEC that the firm continued to struggle with material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting.
In particular, deficiencies were identified in areas such as control environment, IT operations, financial close processes, and management review controls. Urban One disclosed that a shortage of qualified personnel with sufficient GAAP knowledge contributed to these ongoing issues.
Urban One stated there were no disagreements with E&Y on accounting matters or auditing procedures leading up to the decision to part ways. The company’s Audit Committee authorized E&Y to respond fully to any inquiries from PwC as part of the transition. Urban One also confirmed it had not consulted with PwC prior to the change regarding any particular accounting treatments or audit opinions.
The broadcast group says it will continue to prioritize improvements in its financial reporting processes, with PwC taking over as its auditor effective immediately.
