Crandell,
Here's an explanation by ANTS on the information from the Bloomberg article-->
Yahoo - ANTs SEC Filing and Auditor's Resignation
biz.yahoo.com
Tuesday January 4, 9:07 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
ANTs SEC Filing and Auditor's Resignation
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2000--Frederick D. Pettit, president & CEO of ANTs software.com (OTCBB:ANTS - news), commented on the company's SEC filing procedures in light of the third consecutive business day negative article published by Bloomberg News.
Pettit said, ``ANTs has existed until quite recently with very limited financial resources and, as a result of this, any documents that could be prepared internally have been so prepared, usually by the company's Chairman Donald R. Hutton. For example, Mr. Hutton prepared all the documents required by Nasdaq for the company's successful application to become a fully reporting company.'
Pettit said, ``Recently, an S-8 document was prepared for the SEC by the attorney for a former senior ANTs staff member with respect to the terms of his departure from the company. One of the required documents generated by the former staff member's counsel was headed `Consent of the Certified Public Accountant.' However, a CPA's signature was not required for the purpose intended -- Mr. Hutton's signature as the company's accountant (a capacity in which he has acted for many years for the reasons given above) would have been sufficient.
``Mr. Hutton advised the law firm that he was not a CPA and altered the signature line from `CPA' to `Acct.' However, inadvertently, the document heading was not altered to be consistent with Mr. Hutton's signature as Accountant before it was filed with the SEC. This will be done today by counsel, thereby curing the problem.'
Pettit said, ``It appears what occurred may have been misunderstood by the company's auditor and contributed to his decision to resign. However, when I spoke with him on Monday he declined to elaborate on the reasons for his decision. Coincidentally, over the last several weeks, we have opened discussions with internationally recognized accounting firms having a strong Silicon Valley presence. Our objective is to engage a firm with established experience in the information technology industry and reputation appropriate to our launch into commerciality.'
Pettit said, ``In view of the first two Bloomberg reports, I made calls to senior Bloomberg editorial staff on the East and West Coasts on Thursday, December 30 (3 calls); Friday, December 31 (2 calls); Saturday, January 1 (2 calls); and, was only able to leave voice mails. In each instance, I issued an invitation to Bloomberg to send a qualified reporter to meet with the company's senior management.
``On Monday morning, January 3, I received a call from the supervisor of the individuals I had been trying to reach. I discussed with him several of the inaccuracies and/or apparent intentions to mislead which had appeared in Bloomberg's earlier reports. I reissued my request that a competent reporter be sent to meet with us. Later on Monday, the story headed `ANTs' Independent Auditor May Quit Because of SEC Filing' was released by Bloomberg. The wording of the headline and the release itself create the impression that we tried to sneak something past our auditors in our dealings with the SEC. This would be insanely stupid.
``ANTs believes that there is nothing in the recent releases by Bloomberg which should be a matter of concern to interested parties about our prospects or the conduct of our business. However, we do understand that accusatory headlines and selective use of facts have unsettling affects on the market. If necessary, we will continue to answer any releases which we feel require comment.'
Pettit concluded, ``I look forward to hearing further from an appropriate individual at Bloomberg as to the points I have raised and my invitation to send their best information technology experts to visit with the company.'
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the ``Act'). In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words ``plan,' ``confident that,' ``believe,' ``expect,' ``intend to,' and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, market conditions, competitive factors, the ability to successfully complete additional financings, and other risks.
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Contact:
ANTs software.com
D.R. Hutton, 805/687-4731, 805/687-9412 (fax)
or
Prima Capital - Corporate Communications, 800/600-8599 |
