Hallmark Financial Services Inc. (HALL) Dismisses Its Independent Auditor
On March 2, 2020, Hallmark Financial announced that it had exited from the Binding Primary Commercial Auto Business and revealed a $63.8 million loss development for prior underwriting years. Then, on March 11, 2020, the Company disclosed it had dismissed its independent auditor BDO due in large part to a disagreement regarding estimates for reserves on unpaid losses. Finally, on March 17, 2020, Hallmark Financial filed with the SEC a letter from BDO stating BDO had expanded the scope of its audit relating to the disagreement and that “a substantial portion of the requests had not been received and/or tested prior to our termination.” Following these disclosures, shares of Hallmark Financial fell from a closing price of $14.33 per share on March 2, 2020 to a closing price of $3.12 per share on March 18, 2020, representing a 78% decline.