Stride Inc
For the period ended Jun 30, 2024. Filed Aug 7, 2024.
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FY2024 · Filed Aug 7, 2024
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ITEM 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
As required by Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act, management has evaluated, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Disclosure controls and procedures refer to controls and other procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding our required disclosure. In designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating and implementing possible controls and procedures. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of June 30, 2024, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at a reasonable assurance level.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting.
Internal control over financial reporting refers to a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer and effected by our board of directors, management and other personnel, 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 and includes those policies and procedures that:
| ● | pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets; |
| ● | 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 members of our board of directors; and |
| ● | provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on our financial statements. |
Internal control over financial reporting cannot provide absolute assurance of achieving financial reporting objectives because of inherent limitations. Internal control over financial reporting is a process that involves human diligence and compliance and is subject to lapses in judgment and breakdowns resulting from human failures. Internal control over financial reporting also can be circumvented by collusion or improper override. Because of such limitations, there is a risk that material misstatements may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by internal control over financial reporting. However, these inherent limitations are known features of the financial reporting process, and it is possible to design into the process safeguards to reduce, though not eliminate, this risk.
As discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2023, Management identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as described below:
| ● | Management did not have effective information technology general controls related to user access, program change, and data processing over IT systems used by the Company for financial reporting. More specifically, user access to certain IT systems was granted to Company personnel resulting in segregation of duties conflicts and management did not monitor data processing between applications in a timely manner. Additionally, management did not perform periodic user access reviews in a timely manner or maintain adequate documentation of review and approvals for configuration changes to certain IT systems. This material weakness impacted multiple financial statement areas, primarily revenue, expenses, and related accounts, because certain manual controls across these business cycles are dependent upon information derived from these IT systems. |
Remediation of Material Weakness:
During the year ended June 30, 2024, management took the following remedial actions:
| ● | conducted a review of user access privileges across certain systems and removed permissions to help support appropriate segregation of duties; |
| ● | implemented a control related to monitoring activities performed by personnel with access to primary IT systems supporting financial reporting processes; |
| ● | provided targeted training to personnel that administer the IT systems, to promote security best practices and reinforce the importance of internal controls; and |
| ● | improved policies and procedures and designed and implemented controls over the granting and review of access to IT systems impacting financial reporting to ensure access is limited to functions required for the performance of an employee’s role and responsibilities to support segregation of duties. |
The efforts undertaken by management to remediate the material weakness that existed as of June 30, 2023 were completed as of June 30, 2024.
Management evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024, using the framework set forth in the report of the Treadway Commission’s Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO), “Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013).” As a result of management’s evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting, management concluded that as of June 30, 2024, our internal control over financial reporting was effective. The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024, has been audited by BDO USA, P.C. an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in its attestation report, which appears on page 100 of this Annual Report.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting:
Other than the remediation efforts described above, there was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2024, that materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Shareholders and Board of Directors
Stride, Inc.
Reston, Virginia
Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited Stride, Inc.’s (the “Company’s”) internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the “COSO criteria”). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024, based on the COSO criteria.
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 June 30, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended June 30, 2024, and the related notes and financial statement schedule and our report dated August 6, 2024 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 “Item 9A, 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 U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit of internal control over financial reporting 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, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included 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.
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| | /s/ BDO USA, P.C. |
Potomac, Maryland
August 6, 2024
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