Several US auditing firms are reportedly going to charge crypto companies a steeper fee for their services in the fallout of FTX’s implosion.
According to the Financial Times, many audit firms are reclassifying crypto companies as “high-risk” clients that require additional scrutiny.
Jeffrey Weiner, CEO of auditing firm Marcum, which provides services for Bitcoin miners and digital asset investment groups, tells the Financial Times that the FTX collapse is making it necessary to do more in-depth audits.
“Your antennas have to be up at this point. When a client is high risk, you significantly expand the scope of the audit, and that translates into needing more resources and more time.”
Weiner says that the more in-depth audits would tackle a range of issues, including “systems, controls, the existence of assets, segregation of funds and, of course, given FTX, there will be extra scrutiny of related-party transactions.”
According to the Financial Times, smaller, less expensive auditing firms are reconsidering their business arrangements with companies working in the crypto space. The report notes that some auditing companies may cut ties with digital asset firms.
A partner at an unnamed auditing firm tells the Financial Times,
“We aren’t in the business of working for people that might fail. When a company fails there is a lot of work: you are going to get subpoenaed, deposed, people are going to want to look at your work papers to see if you missed anything. It’s involved.”
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