Annie's: PwC to resign as accounting firm

NEW YORK (AP) -- Annie's independent accounting firm is resigning, the natural and organic foods company said Wednesday, and shares slipped more than 2 percent before the opening bell.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP found "an insufficient complement of finance and accounting resources," the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Annie's said that there was "material weakness in internal control over financial reporting" for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014 but that did not result in any material misstatements in the company's financial statements between 2012 and 2014.

Significant progress has been made in remediating the underlying causes of the material weakness in controls, the company said, adding that efforts continue to address that weakness.

The audit committee of the company board has started the search process to find a new auditor. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP will resign on Aug. 11 or at the completion of the filing of its first-quarter financial results, whichever is soonest.

Last week, Annie's reported disappointing fourth-quarter results as its costs rose and its projections for the full year came in below Wall Street expectations.

Shares of Annie's Inc. declined 72 cents to $31.45 in premarket trading on Wednesday.