biote Corp

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is (1) recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (2) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2024. Based upon the evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective at a reasonable assurance level based on the prior material weakness that existed in our internal control over financial reporting as described below. Notwithstanding the identified material weakness, management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, believes the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report fairly present, in all material respects, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows at and for the periods presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Remediation Efforts to Address Previously Reported Material Weaknesses in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

In the course of preparing financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we identified a material weakness in the aggregate in our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we determined that we did not have appropriate accounting competence and capabilities to properly record in our financial statements certain complex and non-routine accounting issues, particularly related to revenue recognition, financial instruments, and equity. This resulted in incorrect accounting entries that were identified and corrected through the audit of our fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. In addition, this material weakness resulted in errors in the financial statements and related disclosures in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022. Additionally, we identified control issues related to information technology general controls in connection with change management, user access controls and segregation of duties as it relates to user access controls. This material weakness has not been remediated as of March 31, 2024.

In order to address this previously reported material weakness, we hired additional accounting and finance personnel with technical accounting and financial reporting experience as well as implemented procedures and controls in the financial statement close process, which include enhanced system capabilities in most areas, enhanced reconciliation controls, enhanced review controls and financial close checklists which ensure all necessary reviews and reconciliations are occurring as designed. Additionally, we also have access to accounting training, literature, research materials and increased communication among our personnel and outsourced third-party professionals with whom we may consult regarding the application of complex accounting transactions. We are reviewing and assessing access within our information systems in light of our limited staff and will implement mitigating controls where proper segregation may not be feasible. Additionally, we plan to implement user access reviews for key systems.

Our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time and will be continually reviewed to determine that we are achieving our objectives. There is no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects. The material weakness will not be considered remediated until our management designs and implements effective controls that operate for a sufficient period of time and our management has concluded through testing that these controls are effective. Although we are working to remediate the identified material weakness, we can provide no assurance that the material weakness will be remediated during fiscal year 2024.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Other than the material weakness remediation activities described above, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting, as identified in connection with evaluation required by Rules 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) under the Exchange Act, that occurred during the three months ended March 31, 2024, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.