Will the financial statements of the Noodles & Company advertising cooperatives be audited?
Noodles_Company Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The bylaws of your cooperative will be made available for you to review. Each member of the cooperative (including us) will have one vote for each restaurant that is open and operating. We will administer the advertising cooperatives and collect your cooperative advertising contributions by automatic electronic withdrawal. The financial statements of the advertising cooperatives may be unaudited or audited as we determine, and the reports will be made available to you. Each Noodles & Company restaurant located within the local or regional area of the advertising cooperative will be entitled to one vote in the cooperative. Advertising conducted by the cooperatives may be in various media including television, radio, Internet, magazine, newspaper, billboards, transit and aerial advertising.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 36–48)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Noodles & Company Franchise Disclosure Document, the financial statements of the advertising cooperatives may or may not be audited. Noodles & Company determines whether these statements are audited. These reports will be made available to franchisees. Each Noodles & Company restaurant within the cooperative's area gets one vote in the cooperative.
This means that while franchisees are required to participate in local marketing cooperatives, the financial oversight of those cooperatives is controlled by Noodles & Company. The FDD does not guarantee an audit, which introduces a degree of uncertainty about financial transparency.
Prospective franchisees should consider the implications of unaudited financial statements, which may provide less assurance than audited statements. It would be prudent for a potential franchisee to discuss with Noodles & Company their typical practices regarding audits of advertising cooperatives and to understand the level of financial transparency they can expect.