Washington (March 29, 2004) — The long arm of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance has reached into professional boxing as the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a complaint against Cedric Kushner Promotions for SOX certification violations.
The regulator said company founder and chief executive Cedric Kushner, and his top financial officer filed an annual report with the Commission that included a false auditor’s report — which allegedly contained unqualified opinions from BDO Seidman, the company’s former auditor, and current auditor Marcum & Kleigman.
According to published reports, the SEC contends that the annual report misstated company assets by more than 100 percent.
The commission charged that Kushner failed to read the certification documents, and failed to ascertain whether the filing was accurate.
Both BDO and M&K wrote letters to Cedric Kushner Promotions protesting the forged reports. The company subsequently filed a new annual report removing the auditor reports and amending the financial statements.
An attorney for CKP said the company would defend the action “vigorously.”
-- WebCPA staff
