Management’s Responsibilities
The Company’s management is responsible for the financial statements, including disclosures, and information referred to above and for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting. In this regard, management is responsible for establish- ing policies and procedures that pertain to the maintenance of accounting records, the authorization of receipts and disbursements, the safeguarding of assets, the proper recording of transactions in the accounting records, and for reporting financial information in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Management also is responsible for the design and implementation of programs and controls to prevent and detect fraud, and for informing us (i) about all known or suspected fraud affecting the entity involv- ing (a) management, (b) employees who have significant roles in internal control over financial reporting, and (c) others where the fraud could have a material effect on the financial statements; and (ii) of its knowledge of any allegations of fraud or suspected fraud affecting the entity received in communications from employees, former employees, analysts, regulators, short sellers, or others. Management is responsible for (i) adjusting the financial statements to correct material misstatements relating to accounts or disclosures and for affirming to us in the representation letter that the effects of any uncorrected misstatements aggregated by us are immaterial, both individually and in the aggregate, to the financial statements taken as a whole; and (ii) notifying us of all deficiencies in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting identified as part of management’s assessment, including separately disclosing to us all such deficien- cies that it believes to be significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting. Management also is responsible for identifying and ensuring that the Company complies with the laws and regulations applicable to its activities. Furthermore, management of the Company is responsible for: