Abacus Global Management Appoints KPMG, Dismisses Grant Thornton as Auditor

Abacus Global Management's audit committee replaced Grant Thornton LLP with KPMG LLP as its independent registered public accounting firm on March 16, 2026, a switch disclosed in a Form 8-K filed the same day. The engagement took effect immediately upon Grant Thornton's dismissal, with no gap between the two auditors.

The filing was notable for what it did not contain: no disagreements, no adverse opinions, no qualifications or modifications to Grant Thornton's audit reports for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024. Both years produced clean opinions, and the company disclosed no reportable events tied to the departure. Abacus also confirmed that neither the company nor anyone acting on its behalf consulted KPMG on accounting principles, proposed transactions, or audit opinion matters at any point during those two fiscal years or the interim period through March 16, 2026, meaning KPMG arrived at the engagement without prior involvement in the company's financial reporting decisions.

The company asked Grant Thornton to furnish a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission stating whether it agrees with the company's Item 4.01(a) disclosures. Grant Thornton's response, dated March 18, 2026, was filed as Exhibit A to the Form 8-K two days after the auditor switch took effect. The contents of that letter were not included in the available filing excerpts.

No reason for the auditor change was stated in the filing, which is common in straightforward transitions but leaves open the question of what prompted the move from a mid-tier firm to a Big 4 auditor. For KPMG, the engagement represents a new public company client; for Grant Thornton, it is a loss of a listed audit relationship with no disclosed cause.

The same filing disclosed a set of leadership and compensation changes. The board appointed William McCauley as Chief Operating Officer while he retains his role as Chief Financial Officer, a dual-hat arrangement that concentrates significant financial and operational authority in one executive. The compensation committee simultaneously raised CEO Jay Jackson's annual salary to $725,000 and McCauley's to $500,000, both effective immediately. The committee also approved new performance-based equity and cash incentives tied largely to 2026 Adjusted Net Income, though the filing did not specify dollar amounts or award structures for those grants.

The timing of the compensation changes alongside the auditor switch, bundled into a single Form 8-K, suggests the board moved quickly on several governance fronts at once. Whether the audit transition is connected to the company's growth trajectory, investor expectations, or internal planning for the 2026 fiscal year audit cycle is not addressed in the available disclosures.