Will the Brand Fund for Hck Hot Chicken be audited?
Hck_Hot_Chicken Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The Brand Fund will be in a separate bank account, commercial account or savings account. The Brand Fund is not audited. We will provide an annual accounting when available for the Brand Fund that shows how the Brand Fund proceeds have been spent for the previous year upon written request.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING,COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 28–37)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Hck Hot Chicken's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Brand Fund is not audited. However, Hck Hot Chicken will provide an annual accounting of the Brand Fund's spending for the previous year upon written request.
This means that while a formal audit by an independent accounting firm is not conducted, franchisees can request a report detailing how the Brand Fund's money was spent. This provides a degree of transparency, allowing franchisees to see where their contributions are going. It is important to note that the annual accounting is "when available", which introduces some uncertainty regarding the timing and availability of this information.
While the Brand Fund is not audited, Hck Hot Chicken franchisees have the option to participate in local or regional advertising cooperatives. These cooperatives must prepare annual unaudited financial statements, which will be available for review by each member of the cooperative. This provides a degree of financial transparency at the local and regional levels, even though the Brand Fund itself is not audited.