Bitcoin Miner Riot Dumps Auditor for ‘Big Four’ Accounting Firm

Riot Platforms is looking to switch accounting firms as the landscape for crypto company auditors remains in flux.  

The bitcoin mining company “dismissed” its previous accounting firm Marcum on May 18, appointing Deloitte to take its place.

Marcum had audited Riot’s consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years between 2018 and 2022. Deloitte is set to act as the mining company’s independent registered public accounting firm for 2023.

The change was “not as a result of any disagreement on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or audit scope or procedure,” according to a regulatory filing. 

Spokespeople for Riot and Marcum did not immediately return requests for comment. 

A stockholder vote on the change — not required by law to ratify the decision, but proposed “as a matter of good corporate practice” — is slated for June 27, the filing adds. 

The auditor change comes as crypto companies have expressed that some large accounting firms are hesitant to offer them auditing services. 

Mazars Group, whose clients included Crypto.com and Binance, reportedly suspended work with crypto firms in December. 

A Binance spokesperson told Blockworks at the time that a “Big Four” accounting firm — considered to be Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and KPMG — were “currently unwilling” to conduct a proof-of-reserves audit for a private crypto company.

Crypto.com declined to comment on which firm it now uses as an auditor, while Binance did not immediately return a request for comment. 

Accounting firm Armanino was also reportedly pausing work within the crypto industry in December. The company had conducted multiple proof-of-reserves audits for crypto exchange Kraken in 2022.  

Kraken did not return a request for comment.    

A Bloomberg survey of 24 crypto companies last week found 46% of them had their full financial audits completed by a “Big Four” firm.

Three firms reported receiving auditing services from Marcum. Coinbase, Circle and Ripple are among the industry players that receive annual audits from Deloitte.

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