ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures
Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, have evaluated 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, or the Exchange Act, as of December 31, 2022. Based on management’s review, with participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the quarter ended December 31, 2022, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective due to the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting as described below.
Management’s report on internal control over financial reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act). Management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has assessed the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, based upon the framework in Internal Control- Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, or COSO. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Based upon this evaluation and the material weakness identified below, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2022.
Material Weakness in Internal Control
We identified a material weakness related to Information Technology General Controls (ITGCs) that were not designed and operating effectively to ensure (i) appropriate segregation of duties was in place to perform program changes and (ii) the activities of individuals with access to modify data and make program changes were appropriately monitored. Business process controls (automated and manual) that are dependent on the affected ITGCs were also deemed ineffective because they could have been adversely impacted.
The material weakness identified above did not result in any material misstatements in our financial statements or disclosures, and there were no changes to previously released financial results. Our management concluded that the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, present fairly, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the periods presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP.
The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, has been audited by Marcum LLP as stated in their report, which is included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Remediation Plan
Our management is committed to maintaining a strong internal control environment. In response to the identified material weakness above, management will take comprehensive actions to remediate the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting. We are in the process of developing and implementing remediation plans to address the material weakness described above.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Except for the items referred to above, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by Rule 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial reporting.
Inherent Limitation on the Effectiveness of Internal Control
Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system will be met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by