MULLEN AUTOMOTIVE INC
For the period ended Sep 30, 2023. Filed Jan 17, 2024.
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FY2023 · Filed Jan 17, 2024
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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, 2023, 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, 2023 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, 2023 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 written procedure format that is up to date. |
| ◾ | As a result of absence of formalized review 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 inadequate. |
| ◾ | The Company identified certain design deficiencies in its management and analytical review controls associated with the financial 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. |
| ◾ | The Company’s internal control system as well as disclosure controls and procedures failed to ensure the Company properly presents certain related party disclosures in the financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2022, as further discussed in the Note 20 to the financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2023. |
During the year ended September 30, 2023, 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, 2023, and the Company’s remediation efforts will continue to take place in 2024.
During the year ended September 30, 2023, the management completed the following actions in accordance with the remediation plan:
| ◾ | Hired critical leadership roles with sufficient public company and internal control experience, and experience and knowledge in GAAP financial reporting matters, responsible for designing, implementing, and monitoring our internal controls. |
| ◾ | Identified, prioritized and implemented several of the critically important accounting policies and procedures, e.g., additional analytical reviews of financial statements before they get filed; controls to enhance communication between departments of the Company intended to timely capture events that require disclosures or journal entries; using GAAP Disclosure and SEC Reporting Checklists etc. |
| ◾ | Designed, developed, and deployed a number of systems and IT tools to enable the effectiveness and consistent execution of controls over timely and accurate accounting for certain transactions, such as warrant liabilities, stock-based compensation to employees and stock-based compensation to non-employees, in accordance with relevant US GAAP. |
| ◾ | Engaged third-party accounting consulting firm to assist us in documenting our application of GAAP on complex transactions such as significant asset acquisitions, equity-based compensation, debt, and equity financing transactions. |
In addition, the following changes in internal control took place during the year ended September 30, 2023 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting:
| ◾ | In the fourth quarter of the year ended September 30, 2022, the Company acquired a controlling interest (60%) in a substantial subsidiary, Bollinger Motors, Inc. During the year ended September 30, 2023, as part of our ongoing integration activities, the management has been considering the controls design to be incorporated into this business concurrent with the augmentation of our Company-wide controls. |
| ◾ | During the year ended September 30, 2023, the Company started production and sales activities and is implementing internal control procedures related to ASC 606. |
| ◾ | The management of the Company has launched a substantial upgrade of information systems to implement a new enterprise resource planning system (SAP) that is expected to go live in the beginning of the 2024 calendar year. |
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:
| ◾ | revising and enhancing effectiveness of the controls put in place during previous periods, including those mentioned above. |
| ◾ | continuing to implement processes and controls to better manage and monitor our financial reporting risks, including enhancing the usage of technology and tools. |
| ◾ | continuing professional training and education on accounting subjects for accounting staff. |
| ◾ | enhancing management review controls related to our financial statement close and financial reporting involving estimates, judgments, and assumptions. |
| ◾ | augmenting the design of the financial statement closing and financial reporting process including documentation of accounting treatment of significant and unusual transactions. |
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.
We are committed to continuing to improve our internal control processes, and, as we continue to evaluate and work to improve our internal control over financial reporting, we may take additional measures to address control deficiencies, or we may modify certain of the remediation measures described above.
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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