Updates share price change in paragraph 2; adds details about the review process, findings in paragraph 6
By Vallari Srivastava and Nicole Jao
NEW YORK, Feb 27 (Reuters) - U.S. refiner HF Sinclair's DINO.N Chief Financial Officer Atanas Atanasov has taken a voluntary leave of absence amid concerns raised by its audit committee, a filing shows, following a similar departure by the chief executive last week.
The company's shares fell 1.2% on Friday and 13% since CEO Tim Go stepped down as top boss last week.
The company began an assessment of matters relating to its disclosure process in January after Atanasov raised concerns about Go's actions affecting the "tone at the top" regarding the 2025 disclosure processes, according to the filing.
During the review, the board raised separate concerns about Go's approach in some communications to management during the disclosure process.
This subsequently led to Go's request to take a voluntary leave of absence on February 17.
In the latter stage of the review process, the board also developed separate concerns about Atanasov's behavior and questioned the viability of his working relationships with the management team. Atanasov requested a voluntary leave of absence on Tuesday.
However, the company said the audit committee has completed its review and found no issues with the company's processes or financial reporting controls. Its disclosure controls and procedures also remain effective, the company added.
Franklin Myers currently serves as the interim CEO and chief accounting officer Vivek Garg serves as interim CFO.
HF Sinclair said it expects to negotiate mutually agreeable separation arrangements with both Go and Atanasov.
Go was appointed as CEO in 2023 and is also president and a member of the board. Meanwhile, Atanasov joined the company in 2022 and served as its finance chief since then.
(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru, Nicole Jao in New York; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
((Srivastava.Vallari@thomsonreuters.com;))