Panther Owner’s Firm Blasted For Faulty Accounting
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Florida Panthers owner Vince Viola’s Wall Street company is being accused of not being able to do proper accounting.
In a stinging Bloomberg View piece, columnist Jonathan Weil writes that Viola’s Virtu Financial Inc. admitted to faulty accounting in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Panther owner Viola is chairman and CEO of Virtu, a high-speed trading firm.
The disclosure states that the 12-year-old company is unable “to prepare accurate financial statements, resulting from a lack of reconciliations, a lack of detailed review and insufficient resources and level of technical accounting expertise within the accounting function,” according to the Bloomberg report.
Weil write: “Basically, the company said it doesn’t know how to do accounting…(it) lacks the ability to prepare accurate financial statements”
Weil’s piece is headlined: “High-Speed Trader Isn’t So Good With Numbers.”
Ouch.
This is not good news for Broward County, which is negotiating a new multi-million dollar deal with Viola’s Panthers based on the team’s own financial records.
The hockey team claims it is losing money and needs millions more from the county.
When talking about the Soviet Union, President Ronald Reagan famously said: “Trust but verify. “
Broward Commissioners need to do better when dealing with Viola.
How about “trust but verify twice, three times or more?”
March 19th, 2014 at 9:14 am
This is not surprising, considering the lack of credible documentation that the Panthers provided to the County in its request for $86M of tax money. The truly troubling part (other than the fact that they probably have five votes) is that the new agreement would further limit the County’s ability to look at the Panthers books.
March 19th, 2014 at 9:20 am
Oh great lets use Barbara’s & Chip’s methods of account reconciliation.
March 19th, 2014 at 9:43 am
Reagan also said ….
“Well, I learned a lot….I went down to (Latin America) to find out from them and (learn) their views. You’d be surprised. They’re all individual countries.”
March 19th, 2014 at 11:05 am
If this doesn’t get the serious attention of county commissioners, staff and the press they should all be ashamed of themselves. If this isn’t a warning sign what would be?
March 19th, 2014 at 2:05 pm
many wealthy individuals and corporations bank on no one catching stuff like this
The SEC didn’t catch this but a WSJ reporter and maybe an analyst that reads the annual reporst and required filings.
And we think BCC will do due diligence? Please.
All falls to Evan Lukic and even then BCC ignors him far too often than heed his advice.
Primary elections in Aug give voters chance to clean house and send a message
“Stop Looser deals For Taxpayer” regardless of the source of those taxes
March 19th, 2014 at 3:46 pm
He’s making a making a lot of money off the arena that should be going to the county. Commissioners made a terrible deal with the Panthers when the venue was built and each subsequent owner has taken full advantage of it.