iCreate just delayed the publication of their financial report again… but this might actually be a smart play.

The directors of iCreate say they won’t release the unaudited version of their second quarter results.  They’ll only release the audited report.

iCreate has been in hot, hot water for the past couple of weeks. Their financial statements have been delayed for months, the Founder and CEO resigned abruptly last month, and then the JSE suspended the stock from trading.

According to the JSE, iCreate will remain suspended until they release the audited financial statements for the full year ended December 2022, which was due in April. 

On top of that, iCreate still hasn’t released its Q2 results, which were due months ago. They had asked for an extension to August 31, last Thursday, to release the unaudited results, but now they say they’re gonna wait.

The company says the plan is to release both the audited Q2 results and full-year results at the same time; on or before September 30.

Typically, listed companies release the unaudited financials, which are prepared by the in-house accounting team, and then the audited version later on. Auditors are external examiners who are authorised to review and verify the accuracy of financial records and ensure that companies comply with tax laws. 

Usually, there isn’t a big difference between what the company reports and what the auditors verify.

However, one of iCreate’s big issues has been the wide discrepancies between its unaudited and audited numbers.

Now with them being suspended, they’re trying to be extra careful.

Essentially they’re saying, ‘Look, we’re already suspended and instead of releasing unaudited statements that people probably won’t believe, we’re gonna wait and give you guys the final verified versions.’ 

And I think that’s a smart play. As one of our analysts said on Taking Stock, iCreate has a LOTTTT of work to do to regain investors’ trust. And things done gone bad already, so all they can do now is work hard to rebuild confidence. 

The company is still asserting that the acquisition of GetPaid in 2022 and Visual Vibe in May, are the reasons for the delays. 

But it seems like they’re working hard to meet that September 30 deadline. Remember, the stock won’t be able to trade until the results are released, so the faster they get it done, the better.

And that’s the bottom line.