Grupo Televisa Discloses Material Weakness and Its ADR Price Drops

Grupo Televisa Announces Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

On January 26, 2018, Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. (NYSE:TV) disclosed in a Form 6-K filing that Grupo Televisa’s

. . . management, in consultation with the Audit Committee of [Grupo Televisa’s] board and after discussions with PricewaterhouseCoopers, S.C. (“PwC”), [Grupo Televisa’s] independent registered public accounting firm, has concluded that certain material weaknesses in [Grupo Televisa’s] internal control over financial reporting existed as of December 31, 2016.  As a result, the report of management on the effectiveness of [Grupo Televisa’s] internal control over financial reporting, [Grupo Televisa’s] conclusion regarding the effectiveness of disclosure controls or procedures, and PwC’s audit report (each included in [Grupo Televisa’s] Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2016) should no longer be relied upon for the reasons described below.

The material weaknesses in [Grupo Televisa’s] internal control over financial reporting related to (i) the design and maintenance of effective controls over certain information technology controls which support systems that are relevant to the provisioning, updating and deleting of users’ access to those systems, the periodic review of users’ access to these systems, developers’ access to certain of these systems and appropriate segregation of duties; (ii) the design and maintenance of effective controls over segregation of duties within the accounting system, including certain individuals with the ability to gain access to prepare and post journal entries across substantially all key accounts of [Grupo Televisa] without an independent review performed by someone other than the preparer; and (iii) ineffective controls with respect to the accounting for certain revenue and related accounts receivable in [Grupo Televisa’s] cable companies and content division.

[Emphasis added]

For additional information, please see the Reuters article, “Mexico’s Grupo Televisa finds weakness in financial controls, shares fall.”

Grupo Televisa’s American Depositary Receipt Price Drop

Grupo Televisa’s ADR price fell on January 26, 2018 on the news of Grupo Televisa’s disclosure concerning its conclusion that certain material weaknesses in Televisa’s internal control over financial reporting existed as of December 31, 2016. 

Kehoe Law Firm Investigating Potential Securities Claims on Behalf of Grupo Televisa Investors

Kehoe Law Firm is investigating potential claims on behalf of Grupo Televisa investors to determine whether Grupo Televisa and certain of its officers or directors engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.  Grupo Televisa investors with questions or concerns should contact John Kehoe, Esq., 9215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected], complete the form above on the right or e-mail [email protected].

Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.