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MULLEN AUTOMOTIVE INC

For the period ended Sep 30, 2024. Filed Jan 24, 2025.

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A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.

FY2024 · Filed Jan 24, 2025

BINI$0.07-20.3%Stored close · as of Jul 8, 2026

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Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (“DCP”) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports filed by us under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, is: (a) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms; and (b) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.

We conducted an evaluation pursuant to Rule 13a‑15 of the Exchange Act of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our DCP as of September 30, 2024, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our DCP were not effective at the reasonable assurance level as of September 30, 2024 because of material weaknesses in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting described below.

Management’s Annual 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) under the Exchange Act. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect our transactions and our dispositions of the assets, (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the criteria set forth in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of September 30, 2024 due to material weaknesses described below.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. In conducting our review of our internal control over financial reporting, we identified the following material weaknesses described below.

●Based on management’s review of key accounting and information technology policies and procedures, we have determined that although such policies and procedures exist, they are not all formalized in a centralized written procedure format that is up to date.
●As a result of the absence of formalized reviews of key controls across several business processes and/or insufficiently formalized documentation evidencing such review, management’s ability to evaluate the design and monitor the effective operation of these preventative and detective internal controls is limited. Accordingly, management’s ability to timely detect, prevent, and remediate deficiencies and potential risks has been assessed as ineffective.
●The Company identified certain design deficiencies in its management and analytical review controls associated with the inventory accounting and revenue recognition close process. These deficiencies, individually or in the aggregate, combined with inadequate compensating controls, created a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement to the consolidated financial statements might not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
●The Company lacks in-house accounting expertise to identify rights and obligations reflected in non-standard agreements, requiring specialized accounting for complex transactions that the Company currently outsources.
●The Company had numerous post close adjustments within the areas of inventory and debt which affected the timeliness to file the 10-K.

During the year ended September 30, 2024, these control deficiencies did not result in identified material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements; however, the control deficiencies described above created a more than remote possibility that a material misstatement in the consolidated financial statements would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Therefore, our management concluded that the deficiencies represent material weaknesses.

Based on the performance of additional procedures by management designed to ensure reliability of financial reporting, the Company’s management has concluded that, notwithstanding the material weaknesses described above, the consolidated financial statements, included in this Form 10-K, fairly present, in all material respects, the Company’s financial position, results of operations, and cash flows as of the dates, and for the periods presented, in conformity with U.S. GAAP.

Remediation Efforts to Address the Material Weaknesses and Other Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

The aforementioned material weaknesses were first identified in 2022. While the Company has significantly improved its internal control over financial reporting, the material weaknesses remain un-remediated as of September 30, 2024, as the Company has moved from development stage to production and sale of vehicles. The Company’s remediation efforts will continue throughout 2025.

During the year ended September 30, 2024, the management completed the following actions in accordance with the remediation plan:

●Formalization of Policies and Procedures: Accounting and IT policies were updated and formalized to ensure they are current and comprehensive.
●Enhanced Review Controls: Review controls for inventory and revenue accounting close processes were redesigned, with compensating controls implemented to ensure accurate reporting and timely disclosures. We have rolled out new revenue policy to marketing and sales organization and continue to closely monitor revenue transactions and documentation.
●Strengthened Technical Expertise: Additional leadership roles with expertise in GAAP financial reporting and public company controls have been hired, and external consultants engaged to address gaps in accounting for complex transactions.

In addition to the remedial actions taken to date, the Company is considering the full extent of the procedures to implement in order to remediate the material weaknesses described above. Currently, the remediation plan includes:

■Implementation of the Plex ERP and General ledger systems will automate inventory tracking, adjustments, net realizable value and improve controls over financial transactions;
■Evaluating skill set gaps and hiring additional accounting, financial reporting, and compliance personnel (including both internal and external resources), as needed, with an appropriate level of accounting knowledge, training and experience to appropriately analyze, record and disclose accounting matters timely and accurately, and to achieve complete financial accounting, reporting and disclosures;
■Continuing integration of Mullen and Bollinger accounting groups along with professional training and education on accounting subjects for existing accounting staff including preparation and review of account reconciliations;
■Improving and maintaining effective controls for communicating and sharing information between the operations, accounting, information technology, sales, finance and legal departments to ensure that the accounting department is consistently provided with complete and adequate support, documentation and information, and that matters are resolved in a timely and effective manner.
■Enhancing management review controls related to our financial statement close and financial reporting involving estimates, judgments, and assumptions;
■Designing and implementing controls related to the identification of and accounting for certain non-routine, unusual or complex transactions, including the accounting for variable interest entities and valuation of convertible debt and the related derivative liability.

The actions that we are taking are subject to ongoing management review and audit committee oversight. We believe these measures will aid to remediate the control deficiencies that gave rise to the material weaknesses, but the material weaknesses will not be considered fully remediated until controls have been designed and implemented for a sufficient period of time, and properly tested for our management to conclude that the control environment is operating effectively.

The Company is committed to remediating the material weaknesses and the actions the Company is taking are subject to ongoing senior management review, as well as oversight from the Company’s Board of Directors. When fully implemented and operational, the Company believes the measures described above will remediate the underlying causes of the control deficiencies that gave rise to the material weaknesses and strengthen the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The Company will not be able to fully remediate these material weaknesses until these steps have been completed and operate effectively for a sufficient period of time. The Company may also identify additional measures that may be required to remediate the material weaknesses in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting, necessitating further action.

Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls and Procedures

In designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and processes as well as internal control over financial reporting, we recognize that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and implemented, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and that management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs.

Because of its inherent limitations, any internal control system, no matter how well designed and operated, is based upon certain judgments and assumptions, and cannot provide absolute assurance that its objectives will be met. Similarly, an evaluation of controls cannot provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risks that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Attestation Report

This Annual Report does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. As a non-accelerated filer, we are not subject to the attestation requirement.

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