Why IssuerVoice exists

Before you choose a dentist or a dishwasher, you can read hundreds of reviews. Before a small public company hires the auditor who signs its financial statements, the law firm that writes its filings or the bank that raises its capital, it has almost nothing to go on.

These are some of the most important decisions a public company makes. A weak auditor can mean a missed 10-K deadline or a restatement. A careless law firm can stall a deal in rounds of SEC comments. The wrong banker can mean a raise on terms that hurt shareholders for years.

Yet this industry has no working way to learn from experience. Most firms are hired on referrals, often from another firm with its own reasons for the recommendation: the banker suggests the law firm, and the law firm suggests the auditor. Companies new to the public markets, whether through an IPO, a de-SPAC or an uplisting, usually have no way to check, so they trust whoever they are introduced to.

Once hired, firms are hard to replace. Engagement letters can carry tail fees, rights of first refusal on future deals and costly exit terms, and a change of auditor has to be disclosed publicly. So companies stay with firms that serve them poorly. Honest experiences stay in private conversations, and the only public warnings come from regulators, often years after the damage is done. Good firms don't get the credit they have earned, and poor ones rarely face consequences, because the next company never finds out.

IssuerVoice exists to change that. We ask the people who actually hire these firms to rate them: the CEOs, CFOs and general counsel of small public companies. Then we share the results with every company that takes part.

How we work

• Verified, not volunteered. Every rating comes from a company whose work with the firm shows in public SEC filings.
• Anonymous by design. We separate who you are from what you said, and no firm ever learns how you answered.
• No pay-to-play. Firms cannot pay for ratings, placement or removal.
• Fair to firms. Our method is published, and any firm can send a response or a correction.
• Independent. IssuerVoice is not done to make a profit.

Better information leads to better hires, and better hires make for healthier companies and markets. If you have hired an auditor, a securities lawyer or a banker, your experience can help the next company choose well.