BLACKLINE, INC.

Previous wording

Our growth also depends upon our ability to add users and sell additional products to our existing customers. It is important for the growth of our business that our existing customers make additional significant purchases of our products and add additional users to our platform. Although our customers, users, and revenue have grown rapidly in the past, in recent periods our slower growth rates have reflected the increased size and scale of our business and heightened competition within our core Financial Close product. In addition, our growth rates may be impacted by changing customer preferences, such as customer preference for platform offerings that unify upstream and downstream activities versus less broadly-focused solutions, increased competition across many of our product offerings, and diversion of IT budgets toward other technologies and priorities. We cannot be assured that we will achieve similar growth rates in future periods as our customers, users, and revenue could decline, or grow more slowly than we expect. Our business also depends on retaining existing customers. If we do not retain customers, including due to the acquisition of our customers by other companies, or our customers downgrade or fail to renew their agreements with us, or move to our competitors, or if our customers do not purchase additional products, our revenues may grow more slowly than expected, may not grow at all or may decline. Additionally, increasing incremental sales to our current customer base may require additional sales efforts that are targeted at senior management of such customers, which efforts are often associated with complex customer requirements and additional time to evaluate and test our products, and can lead to long and unpredictable sales cycles. There can be no assurance that our efforts will result in increased sales to existing customers or additional revenues.

Current wording

Our growth also depends upon our ability to add users and sell additional products to our existing customers. It is important for the growth of our business that our existing customers make additional significant purchases of our products and add additional users to our platform. Although our customers, users, and revenue have grown rapidly in the past, in recent periods our slower growth rates have reflected the increased size and scale of our business and heightened competition and market maturity within our core Financial Close product. In addition, our growth rates may be impacted by changing customer preferences, such as customer preference for platform offerings that unify upstream and downstream activities versus less broadly-focused solutions, increased competition across many of our product offerings, customer insourcing of functionality, and diversion of IT budgets toward other technologies and priorities. We cannot provide assurance that we will reverse this trend as our customers, users, and revenue could decline, or grow more slowly than we expect. Our business also depends on retaining existing customers. If we do not retain customers, including due to the acquisition of our customers by other companies, or our customers downgrade or fail to renew their agreements with us, or move to our competitors, or if our customers do not purchase additional products, our revenues may grow more slowly than expected, may not grow at all or may decline. Additionally, increasing incremental sales to our current customer base may require additional sales efforts that are targeted at senior management of such customers, which efforts are often associated with complex customer requirements and additional time to evaluate and test our products, and can lead to long and unpredictable sales cycles. There can be no assurance that our efforts will result in increased sales to existing customers or additional revenues.

Previous wording

In addition, our customers may be affected by changes in trade policies, treaties, government regulations and tariffs, as well as geopolitical volatility. For example, uncertainty as to the impact of the imposition of tariffs on certain countries by the current U.S. administration, as well as any potential retaliatory measures by impacted trade partners, could adversely impact trade relations, resulting in higher costs and thereby decrease the purchasing power of our customers, which could put increased pressure on supply chains and create general market instability. Trade protection measures, retaliatory actions, tariffs and increased barriers, policies favoring domestic industries, or increased import or export licensing requirements or restrictions, such as trade sanctions against Russia in response to the war in Ukraine, could have a negative effect on the overall macro economy and our customers, and our ability to sell to certain customers, which could have an adverse impact on our operating results.

Current wording

In addition, our customers may be affected by changes in trade policies, treaties, government regulations and tariffs, as well as geopolitical volatility. For example, uncertainty as to the impact of the imposition of tariffs on certain countries by the current U.S. administration, as well as any potential retaliatory measures by impacted trade partners, could adversely impact trade relations, resulting in higher costs and thereby decrease the purchasing power of our customers, which could put increased pressure on supply chains and create general market instability. Trade protection measures, retaliatory actions, tariffs and increased barriers, policies favoring domestic industries, or increased import or export licensing requirements or restrictions could have a negative effect on the overall macro economy and our customers, and our ability to sell to certain customers, which could have an adverse impact on our operating results.

Previous wording

Growth in our customer base and operations has placed, and may continue to place, a significant strain on our managerial, administrative, operational, financial and other resources, particularly as we focus on cost discipline and efficiency. We anticipate that additional investments in our infrastructure will be necessary to support the growth of our operations both domestically and internationally. These additional investments will increase our costs, with no assurance that our business or revenue will grow sufficiently to cover these additional costs. Labor shortages and increased employee mobility may make it more difficult to hire and retain certain types of employees. For example, labor shortages have, at times, created greater competition for engineering talent, and we have had to expend additional resources to address the retention of such employees. Additionally, our workforce continues to be partially remote, and we expect that it will remain partially remote for the near term. We may experience difficulties onboarding new employees remotely, and maintaining a global organization and managing a geographically dispersed workforce requires substantial management effort, the allocation of valuable management resources, and significant additional investment in our infrastructure. We may be unable to improve our operational, financial and management controls and our reporting procedures to effectively manage our operations and growth, which could negatively affect our results of operations and overall business. In addition, we may be unable to manage our expenses effectively in the future, which may negatively impact our gross margins or operating expenses and cause us to realign resources in order to improve operational efficiency, which may include a slowdown in hiring or reduction in force, such as workforce reductions we initiated in December 2022, August 2023, and March 2025. Moreover, if we fail to manage our anticipated growth or any realignment of resources, such as a restructuring or reduction in force, in a manner that preserves the key aspects of our corporate culture, employee morale, productivity and the quality of our software solutions may suffer, which could negatively affect our brand and reputation and harm our ability to retain and attract customers.

Current wording

Growth in our customer base and operations has placed, and may continue to place, a significant strain on our managerial, administrative, operational, financial and other resources, particularly as we focus on cost discipline and efficiency. We anticipate that additional investments in our infrastructure will be necessary to support the growth of our operations both domestically and internationally. These additional investments will increase our costs, with no assurance that our business or revenue will grow sufficiently to cover these additional costs. Labor shortages and increased employee mobility may make it more difficult to hire and retain certain types of employees. For example, labor shortages have, at times, created greater competition for engineering talent, and we have had to expend additional resources to address the retention of such employees. Additionally, our workforce continues to be partially remote, and we expect that it will remain partially remote for the near term. We may experience difficulties onboarding new employees remotely, and maintaining a global organization and managing a geographically dispersed workforce requires substantial management effort, the allocation of valuable management resources, and significant additional investment in our infrastructure. We may be unable to improve our operational, financial and management controls and our reporting procedures to effectively manage our operations and growth, which could negatively affect our results of operations and overall business. In addition, we may be unable to manage our expenses effectively in the future, which may negatively impact our gross margins or operating expenses and cause us to realign resources in order to improve operational efficiency, which may include a slowdown in hiring or reduction in force, such as workforce reductions we have undertaken from time to time. Moreover, if we fail to manage our anticipated growth or any realignment of resources, such as a restructuring or reduction in force, in a manner that preserves the key aspects of our corporate culture, employee morale, productivity and the quality of our software solutions may suffer, which could negatively affect our brand and reputation and harm our ability to retain and attract customers.

Previous wording

If we are unable to provide enhancements and new features for our existing solutions or new solutions that achieve market acceptance or that keep pace with rapid technological developments, our business could be adversely affected. For example, advancements in technology and the introduction of products by our competitors or others incorporating new technologies, such as AI/ML, the emergence of new industry standards, or changes in customer requirements, may alter the market for our products, and businesses that are slow to adopt or fail to adopt these new technologies may face a competitive disadvantage. The success of enhancements, new products and solutions depends on several factors, including timely completion, introduction and market acceptance. We must continue to meet changing expectations and requirements of our customers and, because our platform is designed to operate on a variety of systems, we need to continuously modify and enhance our solutions to keep pace with changes in internet-related hardware and other software, communication, browser and database technologies. Our platform is also designed to integrate with existing enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) systems such as Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, and SAP, and will require modifications and enhancements as these systems change over time. Any failure of our solutions to operate effectively with future platforms and technologies could reduce the demand for our solutions or result in customer dissatisfaction. Furthermore, uncertainties about the timing and nature of new solutions or technologies, or modifications to existing solutions or technologies, could increase our research and development expenses. If we are not successful in developing modifications and enhancements to our solutions or if we fail to bring them to market in a timely fashion, our solutions may become less marketable, less competitive or obsolete, our revenue growth may be significantly impaired and our business could be adversely affected.

Current wording

If we are unable to provide enhancements and new features for our existing solutions or new solutions that achieve market acceptance or that keep pace with rapid technological developments, our business could be adversely affected. For example, advancements in technology and the introduction of products by our competitors or others incorporating new technologies, such as AI/ML, the emergence of new industry standards, or changes in customer requirements, may alter the market for our products, and businesses that are slow to adopt or fail to adopt these new technologies may face a competitive disadvantage. The success of enhancements, new products and solutions depends on several factors, including timely completion, introduction and market acceptance. We must continue to meet changing expectations and requirements of our customers and, because our platform is designed to operate on a variety of systems, we need to continuously modify and enhance our solutions to keep pace with changes in internet-related hardware and other software, communication, browser and database technologies. Our platform is also designed to integrate with existing ERP systems such as Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, and SAP, and will require modifications and enhancements as these systems change over time. Any failure of our solutions to operate effectively with future platforms and technologies could reduce the demand for our solutions or result in customer dissatisfaction. Furthermore, uncertainties about the timing and nature of new solutions or technologies, or modifications to existing solutions or technologies, could increase our research and development expenses. If we are not successful in developing modifications and enhancements to our solutions or if we fail to bring them to market in a timely fashion, our solutions may become less marketable, less competitive or obsolete, our revenue growth may be significantly impaired and our business could be adversely affected.

Previous wording

We may not maintain profitability in future periods, or if we are profitable, we may not fully achieve our profitability targets. We have in the past, and may in the future, incur net losses attributable to BlackLine, Inc. We had an accumulated deficit of $44.1 million at March 31, 2025. We expect our costs to increase in future periods as we continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on:

Current wording

We may not maintain profitability in future periods, or if we are profitable, we may not fully achieve our profitability targets. We have in the past, and may in the future, incur net losses attributable to BlackLine, Inc. We had an accumulated deficit of $37.4 million at June 30, 2025. We expect our costs to increase in future periods as we continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on:

Previous wording

We are implementing a program to hedge exposures to fluctuations in foreign currencies, including the use of foreign currency forward contracts. We may also use other derivative instruments, such as option contracts, to hedge exposures to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. However, the use of such hedging activities may not offset any or more than a portion of the adverse financial effects of unfavorable movements in foreign exchange rates over the limited time the hedges are in place. Moreover, the use of hedging instruments may introduce additional risks if we are unable to structure effective hedges with such instruments.

Current wording

We have implemented a program to hedge exposures to fluctuations in foreign currencies, including the use of foreign currency forward contracts. We may also use other derivative instruments, such as option contracts, to hedge exposures to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. However, the use of such hedging activities may not offset any or more than a portion of the adverse financial effects of unfavorable movements in foreign exchange rates over the limited time the hedges are in place. Moreover, the use of hedging instruments may introduce additional risks if we are unable to structure effective hedges with such instruments.

Previous wording

We review our goodwill and intangible assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Goodwill is required to be tested for impairment at least annually. At March 31, 2025, we had goodwill and intangible assets with a net book value of $504.8 million primarily related to acquisitions. An adverse change in market conditions, particularly if such change has the effect of changing one of our critical assumptions or estimates, could result in a change to the estimation of fair value that could result in an impairment charge to our goodwill or intangible assets. Any such charges may have a material negative impact on our operating results.

Current wording

We review our goodwill and intangible assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Goodwill is required to be tested for impairment at least annually. At June 30, 2025, we had goodwill and intangible assets with a net book value of $501.4 million primarily related to acquisitions. An adverse change in market conditions, particularly if such change has the effect of changing one of our critical assumptions or estimates, could result in a change to the estimation of fair value that could result in an impairment charge to our goodwill or intangible assets. Any such charges may have a material negative impact on our operating results.

Previous wording

Our customers have experienced minor disruptions and outages in accessing our solutions in the past, and may experience disruptions, outages, and other performance problems. Although we expend considerable effort to ensure that our platform performance is capable of handling existing and increased traffic levels, the ability of our cloud-based solutions to effectively manage any increased capacity requirements depends on our public cloud providers. Our public cloud providers may not be able to meet such performance requirements, especially to cover peak levels or spikes in traffic, and as a result, our customers may experience delays in accessing our solutions or encounter slower performance in our solutions, which could significantly harm the operations of our customers. Interruptions in our services might reduce our revenue, cause us to issue credits to customers, subject us to potential liability, and cause customers to terminate their subscriptions or harm our renewal rates.

Current wording

Our customers have experienced minor disruptions and outages in accessing our solutions in the past, and may experience disruptions, outages, and other performance problems. Although we expend considerable effort to ensure that our platform performance is capable of handling existing and increased traffic levels, the ability of our cloud-based solutions to effectively manage any increased capacity requirements depends on our public cloud providers. Our public cloud providers may not be able to meet such performance requirements, especially to cover peak levels or spikes in traffic, and as a result, our customers may experience delays in accessing our solutions or encounter slower performance in our solutions, which could significantly harm the operations of our customers.

Previous wording

We currently maintain offices and/or have personnel in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, and we intend to build out our international operations. We have also executed several acquisitions and strategic transactions as part of our ongoing international expansion strategy. We derived approximately 30% and 29% of our revenues from sales outside the U.S. during the quarters ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Any international expansion efforts that we may undertake, including acquisitions of businesses outside the U.S., may not be successful. In addition, conducting international operations in new markets subjects us to new risks that we have not generally faced in the U.S. These risks include:

Current wording

We currently maintain offices and/or have personnel in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, and we intend to build out our international operations. We have also executed several acquisitions and strategic transactions as part of our ongoing international expansion strategy. We derived approximately 30% and 29% of our revenues from sales outside the U.S. during the six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Any international expansion efforts that we may undertake, including acquisitions of businesses outside the U.S., may not be successful. In addition, conducting international operations in new markets subjects us to new risks that we have not generally faced in the U.S. These risks include:

Previous wording

•changes in legal and regulatory requirements, taxes, trade laws, tariffs, export quotas, custom duties or other trade restrictions, such as sanctions against Russia in response to the war in Ukraine;

Current wording

•changes in legal and regulatory requirements, taxes, trade laws, tariffs, export quotas, custom duties or other trade restrictions;

Previous wording

In addition, the UK has established its own domestic regime with the UK GDPR and amendments to the Data Protection Act. While the UK GDPR substantially mirrors the obligations in the GDPR and imposes similar penalties, the UK government is considering amending its data protection legislation. If UK regulation of data protection diverges significantly from the EU, new obligations and data flow issues could emerge, creating costs and complexity. Actual or alleged failure to comply with the GDPR or the UK GDPR can result in private lawsuits, reputational damage, loss of customers, and regulatory enforcement actions, which can result in significant fines, including, under the GDPR, fines of up to EUR 20 million (or GBP 17.5 million under the UK GDPR) or four percent (4%) of global revenue, whichever is greater.

Current wording

In addition, the UK has established its own domestic regime with the UK GDPR and amendments to the Data Protection Act. While the UK GDPR imposes obligations and penalties similar to the GDPR, the UK government has enacted the UK Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 on June 19, 2025, which made targeted amendments to the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act. This has introduced additional compliance complexity and has created uncertainty with respect to the European Commission’s adequacy determination regarding the UK’s data protection regime, which must be renewed in 2025 to permit ongoing relatively unrestricted data flows from the EEA to the UK. Further, if UK regulation of data protection diverges further from the EU, new obligations and data flow issues could emerge, creating costs and complexity. Actual or alleged failure to comply with the GDPR or the UK GDPR can result in private lawsuits, reputational damage, loss of customers, and regulatory enforcement actions, which can result in significant fines, including, under the GDPR, fines of up to EUR 20 million (or GBP 17.5 million under the UK GDPR) or four percent (4%) of global revenue, whichever is greater.

Previous wording

Further, cybersecurity laws and regulations continue to evolve worldwide. For example, the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”) creates an information and communication technology (“ICT”) risk management framework for financial institutions and their critical ICT service providers. DORA introduces obligations regarding risk assessments, technical standards, mandatory penetration testing, staff training, and incident notification. It also requires due diligence on third-party ICT service providers and the inclusion of specific provisions in ICT service agreements. DORA took effect on January 17, 2025, and compliance with the regulation may require changes in our services and related policies and practices and may require us to incur significant costs. Further, the EU revised its Cybersecurity Directive (“NIS2”), with EU member states having been obligated to transpose it into national law by October 17, 2024, but with some member states’ transpositions yet to be finalized.

Current wording

Further, cybersecurity laws and regulations continue to evolve worldwide. For example, the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”) creates an information and communication technology (“ICT”) risk management framework for financial institutions and their critical ICT service providers. DORA introduces obligations regarding risk assessments, technical standards, mandatory penetration testing, staff training, and incident notification. It also requires due diligence on third-party ICT service providers and the inclusion of specific provisions in ICT service agreements. DORA took effect on January 17, 2025, and compliance with the regulation may require changes in our services and related policies and practices and may require us to incur significant costs. Further, the EU revised its Cybersecurity Directive (“NIS2”), with EU member states having been obligated to transpose it into national law by October 17, 2024, but with some member states’ transpositions yet to be finalized. NIS2, among other things, obligates companies to adopt or update policies and procedures on issues such as incident handling and supply chain security, implementing certain administrative measures, and requires top management’s involvement in cybersecurity risk management measures, with top management potentially held liable for noncompliance.

Previous wording

The success of our business depends upon the continued use of the internet as a primary medium for commerce, communication, and business applications. Federal, state, or foreign government bodies or agencies have in the past adopted, and may in the future adopt, laws or regulations affecting the use of the internet as a commercial medium. Regulators in some industries have also adopted and may in the future adopt regulations or interpretive positions regarding the use of SaaS and cloud computing solutions. For example, some financial services regulators have imposed guidelines for the use of cloud computing services that mandate specific controls or require financial services enterprises to obtain regulatory approval prior to utilizing such software. Changes in these laws or regulations could require us to modify our solutions in order to comply with these changes. In addition, government agencies or private organizations have imposed and may impose additional taxes, fees, or other charges for accessing the internet or commerce conducted via the internet. These laws or charges could limit the growth of internet-related commerce or communications generally, or result in reductions in the demand for internet-based solutions and services such as ours. In addition, the use of the internet as a business tool could be adversely affected due to delays in the development or adoption of new standards and protocols to handle increased demands of internet activity, security, reliability, cost, ease-of-use, accessibility, and quality of service. The performance of the internet and its acceptance as a business tool has been adversely affected by “viruses,” “worms,” and similar malicious programs and the internet has experienced a variety of outages and other delays as a result of damage to portions of its infrastructure. If the use of the internet is adversely affected by these issues, demand for our solutions could decline.

Current wording

The success of our business depends upon the continued use of the internet as a primary medium for commerce, communication, and business applications. Federal, state, or foreign government bodies or agencies have in the past adopted, and may in the future adopt, laws or regulations affecting the use of the internet as a commercial medium. Regulators in some industries have also adopted and may in the future adopt regulations or interpretive positions regarding the use of SaaS and cloud computing solutions. For example, some financial services regulators have imposed guidelines for the use of cloud computing services that mandate specific controls or require financial services enterprises to obtain regulatory approval prior to utilizing such software. Changes in these laws or regulations could require us to modify our solutions in order to comply with these changes. In addition, government agencies or private organizations have imposed and may impose additional taxes, fees, or other charges for accessing the internet or commerce conducted via the internet. These laws or charges could limit the growth of internet-related commerce or communications generally, or result in reductions in the demand for internet-based solutions and services such as ours. In addition, the use of the internet as a business tool could be adversely affected due to delays in the development or adoption of new standards and protocols to handle increased demands of internet activity, security, reliability, cost, ease-of-use, accessibility, and quality of service. The performance of the internet and its acceptance as a business tool has been adversely affected by “viruses,”

Previous wording

Any changes in the U.S. or global taxation of our activities may increase our worldwide effective tax rate and adversely affect our financial position and results of operations. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act includes, among other provisions, an alternative minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income and a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks. Further, Section 174 of the Code eliminates the right to deduct research and development expenditures and requires taxpayers to capitalize and amortize U.S. and foreign research and development expenditures over five and fifteen years, respectively. In addition, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has proposed a global minimum tax of 15%, which has been adopted by or is being considered by EU member states and certain other jurisdictions. These and other proposed or implemented changes in the U.S. and global taxation could adversely impact our financial position and results of operations.

Current wording

Any changes in the U.S. or global taxation of our activities may increase our worldwide effective tax rate and adversely affect our financial position and results of operations. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act includes, among other provisions, an alternative minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income and a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks. Further, Section 174 of the Code eliminates the right to deduct research and development expenditures and requires taxpayers to capitalize and amortize foreign research and development expenditures over fifteen years. On July 4, 2025, H.R. 1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” was enacted into law, making a number of changes to U.S. federal income tax law, including permanently suspending the requirement to capitalize and amortize domestic research and development expenditures and permitting such deductions on a current basis. In addition, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has proposed a global minimum tax of 15% (“Pillar 2”), which has been adopted by or is being considered by EU member states and certain other jurisdictions. Further, the United States has withdrawn support for Pillar 2 and has indicated that it may take action against countries with tax laws that disproportionately impact U.S. businesses, which may result in retaliatory taxes or other retaliatory actions against U.S. businesses. These and other proposed or implemented changes in the U.S. and global taxation could adversely impact our financial position and results of operations.

Previous wording

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the listing requirements of Nasdaq, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations increases our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming, or costly, and increase demand on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. We are required to disclose changes made in our internal control and procedures on a quarterly basis and are required to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting on an annual basis. Additionally, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404. As a result of the complexity involved in complying with the rules and regulations applicable to public companies, our management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. Although we have hired additional employees to assist us in complying with these requirements, we may need to hire more employees or engage outside consultants, which will increase our operating expenses.

Current wording

Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the listing requirements of Nasdaq, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations increases our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming, or costly, and increase demand on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. We are required to disclose changes made in our internal control and procedures on a quarterly basis and are required to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting on an annual basis. Additionally, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404. As a result of the complexity involved in complying with the rules and regulations applicable to public companies, our management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. Although we have hired additional employees to assist us in complying with these requirements, we may need to hire more employees or engage outside consultants, which will increase our operating expenses.