Disclosure requirements
Companies fundraising on Republic must disclose a limited amount of information to you, including:
- general information about the company,
- its officers and directors,
- a description of the business,
- the planned use for the money raised from the offering, often called the use of proceeds,
- the funding goal,
- the deadline for the offering, related-party transactions,
- risks specific to the company or its business, and
- financial information about the company.
You should use this information to determine whether a particular investment is appropriate for you.
The type of financial information disclosed as well as verification of finances varies based on whether the company has raised via crowdfunding in the past, as well as the amount being raised.
- $107,000 or less – financial statements and certain specific line items from income tax returns are required, both of which are certified by the principal executive officer of the company.
- $107,000.01 to $535,000 – financial statements are reviewed by an independent public accountant and the accountant’s review report is provided as well as certification by the principal executive officer of the company. A review is some level of scrutiny of the financials by a CPA.
- $535,000.01 to $1.07 million – if first time crowdfunding, then financial statements reviewed by an independent public accountant and the accountant’s review report if available are disclosed: otherwise financial statements audited by an independent public accountant and the accountant’s audit report must be prepared and disclosed. An audit provides a higher level of scrutiny by the accountant than a review as well as some verification by the accountant.
Each offering has a discussion forum where you should ask any questions you have and review those asked by other investors. These channels can be useful both before and after making an investment.
Once an offering has closed, the company will provide updates on the results of its operations and financial statements through its website on an annual basis. These updates are likely to be less regular and robust than those provided by public companies to their shareholders. Republic likely will not retain any relationship with the company. There are numerous ways for the startup to legally discontinue providing these updates, you should not rely on these updates being provided indefinitely. Republic does not make the Company’s post-closing disclosure available to you through its website.
