Is Moes Southwest Grill required to have an independent audit of the Ad Fund completed?
Moes_Southwest_Grill Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
We are not required to have an independent audit of the Ad Fund completed.
We will provide you with an annual summary of the expenditures of the Ad Fund on your reasonable request.
If any monies in the Ad Fund remain at the end of a fiscal year, they will carry-over in the Ad Fund into the next fiscal year.
We may treat any amounts that we contribute to the Ad Fund in excess of our required contributions for Businesses that we operate and any spending on advertising that we make in excess of the amounts then available in the Ad Fund as a loan from us to the Ad Fund.
We have the right to be reimbursed from the Ad Fund any amounts that we loan to the Ad Fund.
Source: Item 22 — Contracts (FDD page 92)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Moe's Southwest Grill Franchise Disclosure Document, Moe's Franchisor SPV LLC is not required to have an independent audit of the Ad Fund completed. However, Moe's Southwest Grill will provide franchisees with an annual summary of the expenditures of the Ad Fund upon reasonable request. The Ad Fund is used for advertising and promoting the Moe's Southwest Grill businesses, marks, and system.
This means that as a Moe's Southwest Grill franchisee, you will not receive a certified audit of the Ad Fund, but you are entitled to an annual summary of how the fund is spent. While there is no independent audit, franchisees can still request and review the annual summary to understand how their advertising contributions are being utilized.
It is important to note that Moe's Southwest Grill does not consider the Ad Fund to be a trust and is not a fiduciary with respect to franchisee contributions. Any monies remaining in the Ad Fund at the end of the fiscal year will carry over into the next fiscal year. Moe's Southwest Grill may also treat contributions above the required amount as a loan to the Ad Fund, which they have the right to be reimbursed for.