SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
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FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) of the
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
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Date of Report
January 13, 2003
(Date of earliest event reported)
BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its Charter)
Florida 34-027228
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(State of other jurisdiction or (Commission File Number)
incorporation or organization)
1750 East Sunrise Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33304
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(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
65-0507804
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(IRS Employer Identification No.)
(954) 760-5000
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Item 4. Changes in Registrant's Certifying Accountant
(a) Previous Independent Accountants
(i) On January 7, 2003, BankAtlantic Bancorp dismissed KPMG LLP as its
independent public accountants effective upon completion of the audit of the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2002. KPMG LLP will serve as independent
accountants through the filing of all required reports covering operations for
fiscal year 2002, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K to be filed by March
31, 2003.
(ii) The reports of KPMG LLP on the financial statements for the past two
years ended December 31, 2001 and 2000 contained no adverse opinion or
disclaimer of opinion and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty,
audit scope or accounting principles, except that in 2001, BankAtlantic Bancorp
changed its method of accounting for derivative instruments and hedging
activities.
(iii) The decision to change accountants was approved by the Audit
Committee of the board of directors of Registrant.
(iv) In connection with its audits for the two most recent fiscal years
ended December 31, 2001 and 2000, and through the date of this filing, there
have been no disagreements with KPMG LLP on any matter of accounting principles
or practices, financial statement disclosure, auditing scope or procedure, which
disagreements if not resolved to the satisfaction of KPMG LLP would have caused
them to make reference thereto in their report on the financial statements for
such years.
The Registrant has requested KPMG LLP furnish it with a letter addressed to
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") stating whether it
agrees or disagrees with the above statements. A copy of such letter, dated
January 13, 2003 is filed as Exhibit 16 to this Form 8-K.
(b) New independent accountants
The Registrant's Audit Committee engaged PriceWaterhouseCoopers ("PWC") as
its principal independent public accountants effective as of January 1, 2003.
During the two most recent fiscal years and through January 7, 2003, the
Registrant has not consulted with PWC regarding either the (i) the application
of accounting principles to a specific transaction, either completed or
proposed; or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the
Registrant's financial statements; or (ii) any matter that was either the
subject of a disagreement, as that term is defined in Item 304 (a)(1)(iv) of
Regulation S-K and the related instructions to Item 304 of Regulation S-K, or a
reportable event, as that term is defined in Item (a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K.
Item 7. Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and Exhibits
(i) Financial Statements
Not applicable
(ii) Pro Forma Financial Information
Not applicable
(iii) Exhibits
16. Letter dated January 13, 2003 from KPMG LLP to the Commission regarding
the Registrant's change in independent public accountants.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
BANKATLANTIC BANCORP, INC.
By: /s/ JAMES A. WHITE
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James A. White
Executive Vice President
- Chief Financial Officer
Dated: January 13, 2003