AMERICAN BATTERY MATERIALS, INC. 10-Q

Item 4. Controls and Procedures (a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures: Our management conducted an evaluation, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer, who is our principal executive officer and our principal financial and accounting officer, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-Q. Based on that evaluation, we concluded that because of the material weakness and significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting described below, our disclosure controls and procedures were not sufficient as of September 30, 2022. (b) Management’s Report of Internal Control over Financial Reporting: Sebastian Lux, as our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act. An evaluation was performed of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The evaluation was based on the framework in 2013 Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Based on our evaluation under the criteria set forth in 2013 Internal Control — Integrated Framework, our management concluded that, as of September 30, 2021 our internal control over financial reporting was not effective because of the identification of material weaknesses described as follows: ● We did not have controls designed to validate the completeness and accuracy of underlying data used in the determination of accounting transactions. Accordingly, we believe we have a material weakness because there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement to the interim or annual consolidated financial statements would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. ● We do not have written documentation of our internal control policies and procedures. Written documentation of key internal controls over financial reporting is a requirement of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which is applicable to us. Management evaluated the impact of our failure to have written documentation of our internal controls and procedures on our assessment of our disclosure controls and procedures and has concluded that the control deficiency that resulted represented a material weakness. ● We do not have sufficient segregation of duties within accounting functions, which is a basic internal control. Due to our size and nature, segregation of all conflicting duties may not always be possible and may not be economically feasible. However, to the extent possible, the initiation of transactions, the custody of assets and the recording of transactions should be performed by separate individuals. Management evaluated the impact of our failure to have segregation of duties on our assessment of our disclosure controls and procedures and has concluded that the control deficiency that resulted represented a material weakness. ● We have an inadequate number of personnel with requisite expertise in the key functional areas of finance and accounting. ● We do not have a functioning audit committee resulting in ineffective oversight in the establishment and monitoring of required internal controls and procedures. 23 (c) Remediation Plan for Material Weaknesses in Internal Control over Financial Reporting: Management of the Company is committed to improving its internal controls and will (i) continue to use third party specialists to address shortfalls in staffing and to assist the Company with accounting and finance responsibilities; (ii) increase the frequency of independent reconciliations of significant accounts which will mitigate the lack of segregation of duties until there are sufficient personnel; and, (iii) appoint audit committee members in the immediate future. The Company has recently added a Chief Financial Officer to replace Mr. Lux. Management has discussed the material weaknesses noted above with our independent registered public accounting firm. Due to the nature of these material weaknesses, it is reasonably possible that misstatements which could be material to the annual or interim consolidated financial statements could occur that would not be prevented or detected during our financial close and reporting process. This Quarterly Report does not include an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. (d) Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting: There were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended September 30, 2022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. However, our management is currently seeking to improve our controls and procedures in an effort to remediate the deficiency described above. 24 PART II – OTHER INFORMATION Item 1. Legal Proceedings. None.