On September 9, 2021 BDO, Jones Soda’s (JSDA) auditor since 2019, informed the company it was resigning as the company’s auditor effective the same day. Prior to providing boiler plate language suggesting the company and BDO had no disagreements over financial statements, Jones Soda volunteered the following:

“The report of BDO on such financial statements contained an explanatory paragraph which noted that there was substantial doubt as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern”

It’s unclear why Jones Soda included the going concern reference as it’s not new or unique to BDO. Prior auditors also included the going concern notice due to Jones Soda’s recurring operating losses and negative cash flows.

Twenty-one days later, Jones Soda hired a new auditor, Armanino LLP, which hasn’t been dinged by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) for audit quality control issues since 2019. In its latest 10-Q, Jones Soda warns that the transition to Armanino may cause future filings to be delayed:

“While we do not expect the change in auditors to delay our future filings with the SEC, such a delay is possible if we are unable to timely engage and onboard the new accounting firm.”