Item 4. Controls and Procedures
ITEM 4. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based upon this evaluation, our chief executive officer and our chief financial officer concluded the disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of March 29, 2024, the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, due to material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting described below.
Material Weaknesses in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
As previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2023, the Company identified the following material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting that continue to exist as of March 29, 2024.
The Company did not design and maintain effective controls relating to the: (i) sufficiency of processes related to identifying and analyzing risks to the achievement of objectives across the entity, (ii) sufficiency of competent personnel to analyze risks of material misstatement and develop internal control activities to support the achievement of the Company’s internal control objectives; and (iii) monitoring of performance of control activities in accordance with established policies in a timely manner.
These material weaknesses contributed to the following additional material weaknesses:
(a) The Company did not design and maintain effective information technology (“IT”) general controls for certain information systems that are relevant to the preparation of its consolidated financial statements. Specifically, for certain of the Fluid Solutions operating subsidiaries in the Products segment which have not been migrated to the Company’s primary ERP system, the Company did not design and maintain (a) program change management controls to ensure that IT program and data changes affecting financial IT applications and underlying accounting records are identified, tested, authorized and implemented appropriately, and (b) user access controls to ensure appropriate segregation of duties that adequately restrict user and privileged access to our financial applications and data to appropriate company personnel. Business process controls that are dependent on information and data produced by systems affected by the deficiencies in IT general controls were deemed ineffective because they could have been adversely impacted.
(b) The Company did not design and maintain effective application controls over certain information technology systems that are relevant to the preparation of its consolidated financial statements. Specifically, for certain other international operating subsidiaries in the Products segment which have not been migrated to the Company’s primary ERP system, the Company did not design and maintain effective IT application controls or business process controls including, but not limited to appropriate segregation of duties . The business process controls were deemed ineffective because they could have allowed for certain personnel to have incompatible duties allowing for the creation, review, and processing of certain transactions without independent review and authorization which affects substantially all financial statement account balances and disclosures within such subsidiaries;
(c) The Company did not design and maintain effective controls to determine the valuation of inventories, including the write down of inventory to its estimated market value less costs to sell and the validation and approval of inventory costing;
(d) The Company did not design effective controls necessary to validate the accuracy of certain data used within the operation of controls which affects substantially all financial statement account balances and disclosures; and
(e) The Company did not design and maintain effective controls related to the review of cash flow forecasts used in the valuation of certain assets and liabilities acquired in a business combination. Specifically, the control activities related to
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the review of the inputs and assumptions utilized to develop the cash flow forecasts used in the valuation of acquired intangible assets and contingent earn-out liabilities were not designed at an appropriate level of precision.
The material weaknesses described above did not result in any changes to previously released annual or interim financial results. However, these material weaknesses could result in misstatements of our consolidated financial statements that would result in a material misstatement to the annual or interim consolidated financial statements that would not be prevented or detected. Based on additional procedures and post-closing review, management concluded that the condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q present fairly, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the periods presented, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
Remediation Plan
Management has been executing and remains committed to implementing measures designed to ensure that control deficiencies contributing to the material weaknesses are remediated, such that these controls are designed, implemented, and operating effectively. The following remediation actions are currently being implemented and are in progress:
• engaging an external advisor to assist with evaluating and documenting the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls and assist with the remediation of deficiencies, as necessary;
• hiring additional personnel to identify and analyze risks of material misstatement, develop internal control activities to support the achievement of the Company’s internal control objectives, and monitor the effective performance of those control objectives;
• designing and implementing effective controls for certain operating subsidiaries not yet migrated to our primary ERP system, including controls over program changes and user access including segregation of duties;
• designing and implementing effective controls over valuation of inventories and inventories costing;
• designing and implementing effective controls over data used within the operation of controls; and
• designing and implementing effective controls over the review of cash flow forecasts utilized in the valuation of acquired intangible assets and contingent earn-out liabilities in a business combination to ensure the accuracy of inputs and assumptions applied in the forecasting process.
As we continue to evaluate and work to improve our internal control over financial reporting, we may decide to take additional measures to address the material weaknesses or modify the remediation plans described above. We believe that these actions will remediate the material weaknesses, however the material weaknesses will not be considered remediated until the applicable controls have operated for a sufficient period of time, and management has concluded, through testing, that these controls are designed and operating effectively. While Management believes that the aforementioned plans will remediate the material weaknesses, there is no assurance on the exact timing of the completion of the remediation. As the remediation plans continue to be implemented, management may be required to take additional measures or modify the plan elements.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in internal control over financial reporting during the fiscal first quarter ended March 29, 2024, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
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PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.