Suffolk Bancorp in New York Switches Accounting Firms

Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., said late Wednesday that it has a new accounting firm.

The $1.5 billion-asset company, which earlier this month tapped a new chief executive, said in a press release that its audit committee had replaced Grant Thornton LLP with BDO USA LLP. Suffolk said the change was not due to any disagreement.

"We … have made this decision in connection with our movement into a new chapter of our company's life," said Howard Bluver, the company's president and chief executive, in the release. "We are deeply appreciative of all the work Grant Thornton has done to assist Suffolk in overcoming recent challenges and we value greatly the relationship we have had over the past decade."

Recent years have been tumultuous for Suffolk, which reached a formal agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in October 2010 and said last summer that it would restate 2010 earnings due to weaknesses in its accounting for loan losses. The Nasdaq at one point moved to delist the company's shares. In December, Suffolk refiled results to reveal lower income, but it reached profitability in the second quarter and avoided delisting.

On Wednesday, the company said it is working with the new accounting firm to file its 2011 annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, with expectations of making the filing by April 15. Suffolk also said expects to announce the appointment of a new chief financial officer "in the coming weeks," filling a position that has been vacant since June 2011

Finally, Suffolk said it expects to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2011 earnings on Jan. 31.