Powerfleet Inc
For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed May 9, 2024.
View on SEC.govAbout this filing
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.
FY2023 · Filed May 9, 2024
Extracted filing text, with the paragraph anchors used by the comparison.
See the whole filing, with its images and exhibitsContents
Item 8. Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Powerfleet, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of PowerFleet, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated May 9, 2024 expressed an adverse opinion thereon.
Restatement of 2022 and 2021 Financial Statements
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the 2022 and 2021 consolidated financial statements have been restated to correct misstatements.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Valuation of Goodwill
| Description of the Matter | At December 31, 2023, the Company reported $83.5 million of goodwill. As discussed in Notes 3 and 9 to the consolidated financial statements, goodwill is tested for impairment at least annually at the reporting unit level. Auditing management’s annual goodwill impairment test was complex and highly judgmental due to the significant estimation required to determine the fair value of the reporting unit. In particular, the fair value estimate was sensitive to significant assumptions, such as the weighted average cost of capital, revenue growth and cost growth all of which are affected by expectations about future operations and market conditions. Further, the identified material weakness relating to management not adequately preparing and maintaining evidence of their review of significant assumptions relating to the annual goodwill impairment assessment affected our audit procedures in this area. |
|---|---|
| How We Addressed the Matter in Our Audit | To test the fair value of the Company’s reporting unit, we performed audit procedures with the assistance of internal valuation specialists that included, among others, assessing methodologies and testing the significant assumptions discussed above and the underlying data used by the Company in its analysis. We compared the significant assumptions used by management to current industry and economic trends, including key performance indicators, and evaluated whether changes in the Company’s business would affect the significant assumptions. We assessed the historical accuracy of management’s estimates and performed a sensitivity analysis of significant assumptions to evaluate the changes in the fair value of the reporting unit that would result from changes in the assumptions. We compared the data used in the analysis to supporting documentation and analyses. The nature and extent of our audit procedures considered the inability to rely on controls over management’s goodwill impairment review process as a result of the material weakness described above. |
| Uncertain Tax Positions | |
| Description of the Matter | As discussed in Note 18 of the consolidated financial statements, the Company has recorded a liability of $0.3 million related to uncertain tax positions as of December 31, 2023. The Company conducts business in the US and various foreign countries and is therefore subject to US federal and state income taxes, as well as income taxes of multiple foreign jurisdictions. Due to the multinational operations of the Company and changes in global income tax laws and regulations, including those in the US, there is complexity in the accounting for and monitoring of the provision for uncertain tax positions. Auditing management’s identification and measurement of uncertain tax positions involved complex analysis and auditor judgment related to the evaluation of the income tax consequences of changes in income tax laws and regulations in various jurisdictions, which are often subject to interpretation. |
| How We Addressed the Matter in Our Audit | Our audit procedures included, among others, evaluating the Company’s assumptions and the underlying data used to identify its uncertain tax positions and to estimate the amount of the related unrecognized income tax benefits by jurisdiction. We obtained an understanding of the Company’s legal structure by reviewing its organizational charts. Due to the complexity of the tax law in various jurisdictions, we involved our income tax professionals to assess the Company’s interpretation of and compliance with tax laws in these jurisdictions, as well as to identify relevant tax law changes. In certain circumstances, we involved our income tax professionals to evaluate the technical merits of the Company’s tax positions and to evaluate income tax opinions or other third-party advice obtained by the Company. |
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2019.
Iselin, New Jersey
May 9, 2024
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Powerfleet, Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
We have audited PowerFleet, Inc. and subsidiaries’ internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, because of the effect of the material weaknesses described below on the achievement of the objectives of the control criteria, PowerFleet, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) has not maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on the COSO criteria.
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 the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The following material weaknesses have been identified and included in management’s assessment. Management has identified material weaknesses in the design and operation of controls related to the determination of standalone selling price, capitalized software, the Movingdots GmbH business combination, valuation of goodwill, measurement and valuation of the convertible redeemable preferred stock and the financial statement close process, which includes the information technology general controls in the areas of user access and change management over key information technology systems that support the Company’s financial reporting processes, the related process-level information technology dependent manual controls and application controls.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes. These material weaknesses were considered in determining the nature, timing and extent of audit tests applied in our audit of the 2023 consolidated financial statements, and this report does not affect our report dated May 9, 2024, which expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Basis for Opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
A company’s 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 generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/Ernst & Young LLP
Iselin, New Jersey
May 9, 2024
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.