UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Amendment No: 1)
(Mark One)
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For
the fiscal year ended
or
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from _____ to _____
Commission
File Number
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
|
||
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code:
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES ☐ ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. YES ☐ ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒ NO ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). ☒ NO ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
☒ | Smaller reporting company | |||||
Emerging growth company |
If
an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying
with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered
public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). YES ☐
The
aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity on December 31, 2021, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, held by
nonaffiliates, was $
As of October 6, 2022, there were of the registrant’s Common Stock issued and outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Auditor Firm ID | Auditor Name | Auditor Location | ||
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The purpose of this Amendment is solely to reflect the changes i) aggregated market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates on December 31 2021 on the cover page, and ii) the information required in Part II , Item 9A of the Original Form 10-K, which information was previously omitted from the Original Form 10-K. Accordingly, we hereby amend and replace in its entirety Part II, Item 9A of the Original Form 10-K.
In addition, pursuant to the rules of the SEC, Item 15 of Part IV has been amended to include the currently dated certifications of the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer (Exhibits 31.3 and 31.4) required under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Table of Contents
Page | ||
PART II | ||
Item 9A. | Controls and Procedures | 3 |
PART IV | ||
Item 15. | Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules | 5 |
Signatures | 8 |
2 |
PART II
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PRECEDURES
a) | Disclosure and control procedures |
Our management, with the participation of our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operations of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report on Form 10-K/A, and have concluded that, based on such evaluation, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective due to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2022 as described below.
Notwithstanding the conclusion that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of the end of the period covered by this report, we believe that our consolidated financial statements and other information contained in our annual report on Form 10-K present fairly, in all material respects, our business, financial condition and results of operations for the periods presented.
b) | Management’s 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 was designed to provide reasonable assurance to our management and board of directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements.
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. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to assets of the Company; (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 receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and (iii) 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.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a 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 consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
3 |
The effectiveness of any system of internal control over financial reporting, including ours, is subject to inherent limitations, including the exercise of judgment in designing, implementing, operating, and evaluating the controls and procedures, and the inability to eliminate misconduct completely. Accordingly, in designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any system of internal control over financial reporting, including ours, no matter how well designed and operated, can only provide reasonable, not absolute assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure 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. Moreover, 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. We intend to continue to monitor and upgrade our internal controls as necessary or appropriate for our business but cannot assure you that such improvements will be sufficient to provide us with effective internal control over financial reporting.
Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2022, based on the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013 Framework). Based on this assessment, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of June 30, 2022, due to the material weaknesses described below.
Material Weaknesses
As a result of the assessment, management concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was ineffective as of the evaluation date due to the following material weaknesses in control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication and monitoring:
● | The lack of sufficient financial reporting and accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge of US GAAP and SEC reporting requirements to prepare consolidated financial statements and related disclosures in accordance with US GAAP and SEC reporting requirements. |
Remediation Plan
Management is committed to continuing with the steps necessary to remediate the control deficiencies that constituted the above material weaknesses. Since the IPO, we made the following enhancements to our control environment:
a. We added accounting and finance personnel to provide additional individuals to allow for segregation of duties in the preparation and review of schedules, calculations, and journal entries that support financial reporting, to provide oversight, structure and reporting lines, and to provide additional review over our disclosures;
b. We enhanced our controls to improve the preparation and review over complex accounting measurements, and the application of GAAP to significant accounts and transactions, and our financial statement disclosures;
c. We plan to engage independent experts when complex transactions are entered;
d. We plan to recruit additional financial reporting and accounting personnel with adequate knowledge of US GAAP and SEC rules; and
e. We are in the process of engaging outside consultants to assist us in our evaluation of the design, implementation, and documentation of internal controls that address the relevant risks, and that provide for appropriate evidence of performance of our internal controls (including completeness and accuracy procedures).
4 |
Under the direction of the audit committee of the board of directors, management will continue to take measures to remediate the material weakness in the fiscal year 2023. As such, we will continue to enhance corporate oversight over process-level controls and structures to ensure that there is appropriate assignment of authority, responsibility, and accountability to enable remediation of our material weakness.
As we continue to evaluate, and work to improve, our internal control over financial reporting, management may determine that additional measures to address control deficiencies or modifications to the remediation plan are necessary.
This Annual report on Form 10K/A, does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for “emerging growth companies”.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Other than the ongoing remediation effort, described above, there have been no changes to the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d 15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting
PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS SCHEDULES
5 |
4.5 | Form LSBD Warrant ((incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.6 to the Company’s Amended Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (File No. 333-232557) filed with the Commission on December 21, 2020) |
6 |
31.1# | Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
*Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.
# Filed with the original 10-K.
** Filed herewith
7 |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
GBS Inc. | ||
Date: October 7, 2022 | By: | /s/ Steven Boyages |
STEVEN BOYAGES | ||
INTERIM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND CHAIRMAN | ||
(Principal Executive Officer) | ||
Date: October 7, 2022 | By: | /s/ Spiro Sakiris |
SPIRO SAKIRIS | ||
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | ||
(Principal Financial Officer) |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature | Title | Date | ||
/s/ Steven Boyages | Interim Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Director | October 7, 2022 | ||
Steven Boyages | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
/s/ Spiro Sakiris | Chief Financial Officer | October 7, 2022 | ||
Spiro Sakiris | (Principal Financial Officer) | |||
/s/ Jonathan Hurd | ||||
Jonathan Hurd | Director | October 7, 2022 | ||
/s/ George Margelis | ||||
Dr. George Margelis | Director | October 7, 2022 | ||
/s/ Lawrence Fisher | ||||
Lawrence Fisher | Director | October 7, 2022 | ||
/s/ Christopher Towers | ||||
Christopher Towers | Director | October 7, 2022 |
8 |
Exhibit 31.3
I, Steven Boyages, certify that:
1. | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A of GBS Inc.; | |
2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; | |
3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; | |
4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
(a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; | ||
(b) | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, 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; | ||
(c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and | ||
(d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and | ||
5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): | ||
(a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and | ||
(b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
October 7, 2022 | |
/s/ Steven Boyages | |
Steven Boyages, Interim Chief Executive Officer | |
(Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 31.4
I, Spiro Sakiris, certify that:
1. | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A of GBS Inc.; | |
2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; | |
3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; | |
4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
(a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; | ||
(b) | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, 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; | ||
(c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and | ||
(d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and | ||
5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): | ||
(a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and | ||
(b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
October 7, 2022 | |
/s/ Spiro Sakiris | |
Spiro Sakiris, Chief Financial Officer | |
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |