>>RELATED: Springfield-based EF Hutton offers new product for investors
“In the last three months, we’ve made a gigantic move and we don’t have all of our processes and procedures in place,” Daniels said, “and we certainly need to do more in terms of our accounting and administration.”
Daniels declined to name the third-party responsible for the error.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “I wish that we could be perfect in every sense. But there are going to be some times where we can be better and I can assure you that we will do better.”
The company’s chief financial officer was let go in September, he said, because he didn’t want to relocate from Connecticut to Springfield. EF Hutton America has made it a policy that all executives must work in Springfield, Daniels said.
That issue has also been raised in a federal lawsuit. Dennis White sued the firm in federal court in October, alleging EF Hutton America failed to compensate him for his work as president for at least two years.
But the firm described White as a member of its board of directors, saying he declined an offer to work in Springfield and has sought payment because EF Hutton America wouldn’t agree to his demand for an office in Beverly Hills, Calif. EF Hutton hasn’t filed a response to the lawsuit yet.
The open CFO position has led to one or two overdue expenses, Daniels said, but neither those bills nor the payroll error is related to the company’s finances.
“There’s not an issue for us,” he said.
>>READ MORE: Springfield to offer up to $238K a year in incentives to EF Hutton
EF Hutton America is currently seeking a new CFO, Daniels said, as well as other positions. It currently has about 20 employees.
The company intends to create about 415 jobs downtown over the next five years and generate about $24 million in annual wages, the Springfield News-Sun previously reported.
Springfield city commissioners will vote next week on a seven-year tax incentive agreement that would give EF Hutton half of the income tax revenue generated from its new employees it plans to bring downtown.
The city will pay a maximum of about $238,000 to EF Hutton per year, the agreement says, based on the amount of income tax generated by its employees.
If the company doesn’t meet its goals, the city doesn’t risk losing any money because the agreement is performance based, Assistant City Manager Tom Franzen previously told the News-Sun.
Daniels said the company has been busy with the response to its website launch a few weeks ago after it was initially delayed several weeks.
“We’ve got a set of products that are groundbreaking products that have a national market,” he said.
The firm’s financial products include online investment and trading options. It also announced last week it would offer gift cards for trading on its website. The cards can be redeemed for various services for both beginning and experienced investors, including to information from EF Hutton America.
About the Author