Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc. 10-Q

Item 4. Controls and Procedures Disclosure Controls and Procedures In connection with the audits of our consolidated financial statements for each of the years ended December 31, 2020, and 2021, our management and independent registered public accounting firm identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. As a result, a number of adjustments to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2021 were identified and corrected during the course of the quarterly review and audit process. The material weaknesses related to: (i) our lack of a sufficient number of personnel with an appropriate level of knowledge and experience in the application of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP, commensurate with our financial reporting requirements; (ii) our IT general control environment has not been sufficiently designed to include appropriate user access rights and (iii) policies and procedures with respect to the review, supervision and monitoring of our accounting and reporting functions were either not designed and in place or not operating effectively. We have commenced measures to remediate these material weaknesses, including hiring a new Head of Financial Reporting at the end of the third quarter of 2021, consultants with appropriate experience and technical accounting knowledge, and additional staff. The additional personnel are overseeing the implementation of improved processes and internal controls, building our financial management and reporting infrastructure. We continue to engage with third party specialists, as required, for complex accounting matters. Our management concluded that the material weakness related to the application of U.S GAAP as described above has been remediated as of December 31, 2021. We are also taking measures to address the IT general control environment through the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning system, of which we are in the final stages of its implementation. Although we have made progress to enhance our in-house accounting and finance function, in connection with the audit of our financial statements as of the year ended December 31, 2021, our management and our independent registered public accounting firm concluded that the two remaining material weaknesses are still present. Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting Other than the changes intended to remediate the material weaknesses noted above, no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) occurred during the three months ended March 31, 2022 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. PART II - OTHER INFORMATION