Culturecom Holdings Limited disclosed additional details on the departure of its former auditor, Gary Cheng CPA Limited, and the subsequent appointment of CCTH CPA Limited.

A liquidity constraint at the listed-company level delayed Culturecom’s acceptance of Gary Cheng CPA’s original HK$1.10 million audit fee for FY-2026 and the revised HK$1.30 million quotation issued on 7 May 2026. The company could not remit the HK$0.50 million deposit before the 30 April 2026 expiry of the first quotation. Although subscription agreements signed on 29 April 2026 were intended to fund the deposit, the agreements became unconditional only on 15 May 2026, by which time Gary Cheng CPA had confirmed its intention to resign. The formal resignation letter was received on 18 May 2026.

Following the resignation notice on 12 May 2026, Culturecom obtained audit proposals from several firms and, after due diligence and Audit Committee review, appointed CCTH on 22 May 2026 to fill the casual vacancy.

Key considerations behind the selection:

• Audit fee: CCTH quoted HK$1.00 million, versus Gary Cheng CPA’s HK$1.30 million revised fee. • Resourcing: CCTH will deploy an eight-member team for approximately 3,000 man-hours, compared with Gary Cheng CPA’s typical six-person team. • Audit scope: The Audit Committee identified no material reduction in scope; both firms addressed the Group’s principal audit matters and included PRC components. • Independence and competence: CCTH is registered as a public-interest-entity auditor with the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC). Governance, quality-control systems under HKSQM 1, and communication protocols satisfied Audit Committee requirements. • Regulatory record: The AFRC imposed an HK$80,000 penalty on CCTH in November 2023 for delayed post-inspection corrective actions. The Audit Committee reviewed remediation steps and concluded the issue does not impair audit quality.

The Board and Audit Committee confirmed that all reasons for the prior auditor’s resignation have been fully disclosed and that CCTH possesses sufficient resources, expertise and independence to undertake the FY-2026 audit.