Why World Acceptance Shares Tumbled

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of World Acceptance , a subprime consumer lending company, fell as much as 11% after the company announced it would be delaying the filing of its annual report for the fiscal year that ended in March.

So what: The delay in World Acceptance's annual filing relates to problems with its allowance for loan losses (i.e., loans that go unpaid). The company is still planning to have its filing done by the end of July but also notes, "it is possible that the Company's amended Form 10-K will report a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting relating to its process for determining its allowance for loan losses, as well as reporting the measures it is undertaking to remediate any such material weakness."

Now what: Subprime loans are World Acceptance's entire business, so seeing "unexpected problems" arise with regard to its potential accounting of such transactions, as well as the possibility of a material weakness in the accounting procedures winding up in the eventual filing gives me great cause for concern. Until the company has filed its annual report, I feel you have little choice but to wait this one out of the sidelines, as the impact from any "material weakness" could wind up being huge.

Craving more input? Start by adding World Acceptance to your free and personalized watchlist so you can keep up on the latest news with the company.

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The article Why World Acceptance Shares Tumbled originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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