11/27/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/27/2024 08:28
Item 4.01 Changes in Registrant's Certifying Accountant.
Dismissal of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
On November 21, 2024, Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), dismissed Ernst & Young LLP ("EY"), the Company's previous independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors (the "Audit Committee") of the Company approved such dismissal.
EY's audit reports on the Company's consolidated financial statements as of and for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, did not contain an adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion, and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principles when originally issued. However, as previously disclosed, the Audit Committee concluded that the Company's audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and EY's audit report thereon (in addition to the financial statements for the other periods described below), should no longer be relied upon and the financial statements should be restated. EY has not provided a report on the Company's consolidated financial statements as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 due to the Company's previously disclosed reporting delays in connection with the restatement process described below.
As previously disclosed, on December 12, 2023, based on the recommendation of, and after consultation with, the Company's management, the Audit Committee concluded that the Company's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, as previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), should no longer be relied upon and should be restated. The Company subsequently disclosed that, on September 27, 2024, the Audit Committee, based on the recommendation of, and after consultation with, the Company's management, concluded that the Company's audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and unaudited financial statements for the quarters ended June 30, 2022, September 30, 2022, and March 31, 2023, as previously filed with the SEC, should no longer be relied upon and should be restated. The Company currently intends to restate its financial statements for the foregoing fiscal periods (the "Restatement"). In addition, the Company's review and preparation of its financial statements for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, the year ended December 31, 2023 and the quarters ended March 31, 2024, June 30, 2024 and September 30, 2024 have been delayed as a result of the foregoing. As previously disclosed, the Company has identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting and expects to conclude that one or more material weaknesses related to the foregoing matters existed in the Company's internal control over financial reporting and that the Company's disclosure controls and procedures were not effective for each of the foregoing fiscal periods.
During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, as well as the subsequent interim periods through November 21, 2024, there were (i) no "disagreements," as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K between the Company and EY on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure, which, if not resolved to EY's satisfaction, would have caused EY to make reference thereto in their reports on the financial statements for such years, and (ii) no reportable events, as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K, except for the Restatement and the material weaknesses described above. EY notified the Company that due to those material weaknesses, EY would need to expand the scope of its audit procedures on the financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (as restated) which were not completed prior to EY's dismissal. The Audit Committee has discussed each of these matters with EY.
The Company has authorized EY to respond fully to the inquiries of BDO (as defined below) concerning the subject matter of the items described herein.
The Company provided EY with a copy of the disclosures it is making in this Current Report on Form 8-K and requested that EY furnish a letter addressed to the SEC stating whether it agrees with the statements made herein. A copy of EY's letter is filed as Exhibit 16.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.