STUN GUN MAKER SWAPS AUDITORS: Three months after restating its 2004 earnings, stun gun manufacturer Taser International Inc. said that it had fired Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche as its auditor.In May, Taser said that miscalculated tax amounts related to employee stock options had led to the restatement of its 2004 earnings - amounting to a penny per share.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Taser said that Deloitte & Touche had told the company that the control deficiency constituted a material weakness in their internal controls.
In a statement, chief financial officer Dan Behrendt said that there were no disagreements with Deloitte, and announced that Taser would replace the firm with Grant Thornton. "We believe that Grant Thornton's focus on middle-market leaders will more closely align with Taser International's service needs," he said.
In January, Phoenix-based Taser said that the SEC had launched an inquiry into claims the company has made about its safety studies, and that regulators were also looking into an end-of-year sale that some analysts had questioned, saying the deal appeared to inflate sales to meet annual projections.
BNP RESIDENTIAL DISMISSES E&Y: BNP Residential Properties Inc., a Charlotte, N.C.-based real estate investment trust, dismissed Big Four firm Ernst & Young as its auditor and hired Grant Thornton as its new independent accountant.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, BNP said that there were no disagreements with Ernst regarding BNP's financial statements for its past two fiscal years, or on any matter of accounting principles, auditing or disclosure.
No reason was give for the dismissal.
CHRYON JETTISONS PWC: Chryon Corp., a Melville, N.Y.-based provider of character generators, graphics hardware and software-related products to the television industry, dismissed its auditor, Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, and replaced it with BDO Seidman.
In a federal filing, the company said that it had no disagreements with PwC for the two most recent fiscal years and the subsequent period.
INPHONIC TAPS GT: Online services and products provider InPhonic Inc. has engaged national firm Grant Thornton as its new independent auditor.
Grant Thornton, which will audit InPhonic's 2005 financial statements, replaced Big Four firm KPMG.
