SMME SmartMetric Inc (PK)

We have described below a number of uncertainties and risks which, in addition to uncertainties and risks presented elsewhere in this Annual Report, may adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. The uncertainties and risks enumerated below as well as those presented elsewhere in this Annual Report should be considered carefully in evaluating us, our business and the value of our securities. The following important factors, among others, could cause our actual business, financial condition and future results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report or presented elsewhere by management from time to time.

Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need to Raise Additional Capital 

We have a limited operating history as a company and may not be able to effectively operate our business.

Our limited staff and operating history mean that there is a high degree of uncertainty regarding our ability to:

No assurances can be given as to exactly when, if at all, we will be able to fully develop, and take the necessary steps to derive any revenues from our proposed products.

Our business depends upon our ability to keep pace with the latest technological changes, and our failure to do so could make us less competitive in our industry.

The market for our services is characterized by rapid change and technological improvements. Failure to respond in a timely and cost-effective way to these technological developments may result in serious harm to our business and operating results. As a result, our success will depend, in part, on our ability to develop and market service offerings that respond in a timely manner to the technological advances of available to our customers, evolving industry standards and changing preferences.

Raising capital may be difficult as a result of our history of losses and limited operating history in our current stage of development.

When making investment decisions, investors typically look at a company’s management, earnings and historical performance in evaluating the risks and operations of the business and the business’s future prospects. Our history of losses and relatively limited operating history in our current stage of development makes such evaluation, as well as any estimation of our future performance, substantially more difficult. As a result, investors may be unwilling to invest in us or on terms or conditions which are acceptable. If we are unable to secure additional financing, we may need to materially scale back our business plan and/or operations or cease operations altogether.

We are an early-stage company, have no product revenues, are not profitable and may never be profitable.

From inception through June 30, 2019, we have raised approximately $26,000,000 million through the sale of our securities. During this same period, we have recorded an accumulated deficit of approximately $26,933,463 million. Our net losses for the two most recent fiscal years ended June 30, 2019, and 2018 were $936,551 and $1,641,788, respectively. We have never made any sales and have never generated revenues and we anticipate none will be generated for the foreseeable future. We expect to incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future as we continue the development of our products. Accordingly, we will need additional capital to fund our continuing operations and any expansion plans. Since we do not generate any revenue, the most likely source of such additional capital is the sale of our securities. To the extent that we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our stockholders are likely to experience dilution with regard to their percentage ownership of the company, which may be significant. If we raise additional capital by incurring debt, we could incur significant interest expense and become subject to covenants that could affect the manner in which we conduct our business, including securing such debt obligations with our assets.

To date, we have generated only losses, which are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

For the years ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, we incurred a net loss of $936,551 and $1,641,788, respectively. We may not be able to achieve expected results, including any guidance or outlook it may provide from time to time. 

We may continue to incur losses and may be unable to achieve profitability. We cannot assure you that our net losses and negative cash flow will not accelerate and surpass our expectations nor can we assure you that we will ever generate any net income or positive cash flow. 

We may not be able to continue as a going concern if we do not obtain additional financing by December 31, 2019.

Since our inception, we have funded our operations primarily through the sale of our securities. Our cash and cash equivalents balance at June 30, 2019 was $10,161. Based on our current expected level of operating expenditures, we expect to only be able to fund our operations through the first quarter (ending September 30, 2020) of fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, at which time we will need additional capital. Our ability to continue as a going concern is wholly dependent upon obtaining sufficient capital to fund our operations. We have no committed sources of additional capital and our access to capital funding is always uncertain. Accordingly, despite our ability to secure capital in the past, we cannot assure you that we will be able to secure additional capital through financing transactions, including issuance of debt, or through other means. In the event that we are not able to secure additional funding, we may be forced to curtail operations, delay or stop ongoing clinical trials, cease operations altogether or file for bankruptcy.

Our auditors have expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

Our auditors’ report on our June 30, 2019 financial statements expressed an opinion that our capital resources as of the date of their audit report were not sufficient to sustain operations or complete our planned activities for the upcoming year unless we raised additional funds. Our current cash level raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern past September 30, 2020. If we do not obtain additional funds by such time, we may no longer be able to continue as a going concern and will cease operation which means that our shareholders will lose their entire investment.

We entered into a royalty and licensing agreement with Chaya Hendrick, our CEO, which requires substantial payments by us on an annual basis and additionally in the event gross revenues are derived, which could harm our financial position.

Pursuant to a licensing and royalty agreement, entered into on September 11, 2017 by the Company and Chaya Hendrick, our founder and CEO, we received a license to certain patents related to our technologies until the expiration of such patents in exchange for the following : (i) Issuance of 200,000 Series B Convertible Preferred Shares, (ii) 5% of gross revenues derived from the sale of products derived from the patents, and (iii) annual payments beginning at $50,000 per annum, increased by 100% of each previous year (offset against 5% gross revenue royalty payments). We believe these patents are instrumental our business plan and if we are unable to make such required payments under the plan, Chaya Hendrick may terminate the agreement, which may materially impact our business plan. Furthermore, there can be no assurances that we will be able to continue to meet our financial obligations under the terms of the agreement unless we are able to raise additional capital through the sale of our securities or derive revenue from some other source.

As of June 30, 2019, we owe Chaya Hendrick, our CEO, $790,015 in deferred salary, of which the failure to pay could result in Chaya Hendrick’s termination of employment, the result of which would materially harm our business.

We currently have not paid $790,015 in salary owed to Chaya Hendrick pursuant to Chaya Hendrick’s employment agreement outstanding with us as of June 30, 2019. While Chaya Hendrick continues to support the Company and continues to operate as its CEO, President and chairman of the Board of Directors, there can be no assurances that this will continue if we fail to back salaries and future salary owed. Additionally, as of July 1, 2017, all prior and future deferred salary owed will bear interest at a rate of 7% per annum. In the event Chaya Hendrick terminates employment for lack of payment, the Company believes such loss would cause irreparable harm to our product development and would materially harm our business prospects. Additionally, there can be no assurances that Chaya would not attempt to foreclose on our assets in order to satisfy such debt obligations.

Risks Relating to our Stage of Development and Business

Our potential competitors have significantly greater resources than we have, which may make competing difficult.

We compete against numerous companies, many of which have substantially greater resources than we have. Several such competitors have large teams of engineers and scientists that attempt to develop products and technologies similar to ours. Companies such as Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, IDEMIA, as well as others, have substantially greater financial, research, manufacturing and marketing resources than we do. As a result, such competitors may find it easier to compete in our industry and bring competing products to market.

Our business depends upon our ability to keep pace with the latest technological changes, and our failure to do so could make us less competitive in our industry.

The market for our services is characterized by rapid change and technological improvements. Failure to respond in a timely and cost-effective way to these technological developments may result in serious harm to our business and operating results. As a result, our success will depend, in part, on our ability to develop and market service offerings that respond in a timely manner to the technological advances of available to our customers, evolving industry standards and changing preferences.

Our key personnel and directors are critical to our business, and such key personnel may not remain with our company in the future.

We depend on the continued employment of our President and CEO, Chaya Henrick and technical contracted personnel. If any of these key personnel were to leave and not be replaced with sufficiently qualified and experienced personnel, our business could be adversely affected. In particular, our current strategy to penetrate the market for contactless logical access identification and transaction solutions is heavily dependent on the vision, leadership and experience of our President and CEO, Chaya Hendrick.

Our continued success will depend, to a significant extent, upon the performance and contributions of Chaya Henrick and upon our ability to attract motivate and retain highly qualified management personnel and employees. We depend on Chaya Henrick to effectively manage our business in a highly competitive environment. If one or more of our key officers join a competitor or form a competing company, we may experience interruptions in product development, delays in bringing products to market, difficulties in our relationships with customers and loss of additional personnel, which could significantly harm our business, financial condition, operating results and projected growth.

We currently employ a part-time Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Jay Needelman, who is also a member of the Company’s Board of Directors. The loss of services of any of our key management personnel, whether through resignation or other causes, the reduced services of our part-time Chief Financial Officer, or the inability to attract qualified personnel as needed, could prevent us from adequately executing our business strategy. 

Rapid technological changes could make our services or products less attractive.

The smart card, biometric identification and personal identification industries are characterized by rapid technological change, frequent new product innovations, changes in customer requirements and expectations and evolving industry standards. If we are unable to keep pace with these changes, our business may be harmed. Products using new technologies, or emerging industry standards, could make our technologies less attractive. If addition, we may face unforeseen problems when developing our products, which could harm our business. Furthermore, our competitors may have access to technologies not available to us, which may enable them to produce products of greater interest to consumers or at a more competitive cost. 

Sales of our products depend on the development of emerging applications in their target markets and on diversifying and expanding our customer base in new markets and geographic regions, all of which may be financially burdensome or unsuccessful.

Our intent is to market and sell our products primarily to the private sector while addressing emerging applications that have not yet reached a stage of mass adoption or deployment. The market for some of these solutions (electronic biometric fingerprinting) is at an early stage of deployment in the private sector compared to other forms of services that try to identify a person through simpler means (by their name, social security number, etc.) Additionally, we have a strategy of expanding sales of existing products into new geographic markets. Our target market initially will be South America and Australia. In the event that we are unable to adequately develop our applications or gain traction in these emerging markets, or that the cost of the foregoing is too great, our business may be harmed.

Continuing disruption in the global financial markets may adversely impact customers and customer spending patterns.

Continuing disruption in the global financial markets as a result of the ongoing global financial uncertainty may cause consumers, businesses and governments to defer purchases in response to tighter credit, decreased cash availability and declining consumer confidence. Accordingly, demand for our products could decrease and differ materially from their current expectations. Further, some of our customers may require substantial financing in order to fund their operations and make purchases from us. The inability of these customers to obtain sufficient credit to finance purchases of our products and meet their payment obligations to us or possible insolvencies of our customers could result in decreased customer demand, an impaired ability for us to collect on outstanding accounts receivable, significant delays in accounts receivable payments, and significant write-offs of accounts receivable, each of which could adversely impact our financial results.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we are not able to adequately protect our intellectual property, we may not be able to compete effectively.

Our ability to compete depends in part upon the strength of our proprietary rights in our technologies, brands and content. The efforts we have taken to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights may not be sufficient or effective at stopping unauthorized use of our intellectual property and proprietary rights. In addition, effective trademark, patent, copyright and trade secret protection may not be available or cost-effective in every country in which our products are made available. There may be instances where we are not able to fully protect or utilize our intellectual property in a manner that maximizes competitive advantage. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights from unauthorized use, the value of our products may be reduced, which could negatively impact our business. Our inability to obtain appropriate protections for our intellectual property may also allow competitors to enter our markets and produce or sell the same or similar products. In addition, protecting our intellectual property and other proprietary rights is expensive and diverts critical managerial resources. If any of the foregoing were to occur, or if we are otherwise unable to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights, our business and financial results could be adversely affected. If we are forced to resort to legal proceedings to enforce our intellectual property rights, the proceedings could be burdensome and expensive. In addition, our proprietary rights could be at risk if we are unsuccessful in, or cannot afford to pursue, those proceedings.

We may incur substantial costs as a result of litigation or other proceedings relating to patent and other intellectual property rights and we may be unable to protect our rights to, or use of, our technology.

Some or all of our patent applications may not issue as patents, or the claims of any issued patents may not afford meaningful protection for our technologies or products. In addition, patents issued to us or our licensors, if any, may be challenged and subsequently narrowed, invalidated or circumvented. Patent litigation is widespread in our industry and could harm our business. Litigation might be necessary to protect our patent position or to determine the scope and validity of third-party proprietary rights. If we choose to go to court to stop someone else from using the inventions claimed in our patents, that individual or company would have the right to ask the court to rule that such patents are invalid and/or should not be enforced against that third party. These lawsuits are costly and we may not have the required resources to pursue such litigation or to protect our patent rights. In addition, there is a risk that the court might decide that these patents are not valid and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the inventions. There is also the risk that, even if the validity of these patents is upheld, the court could refuse to stop the other party on the grounds that such other party’s activities do not infringe on our rights contained in these patents. 

Furthermore, a third party may claim that we are using inventions covered by their patent rights and may go to court to stop us from engaging in our normal operations and activities, including making or selling our product candidates. These lawsuits are costly and could materially increase our operating expenses and divert the attention of managerial and technical personnel. There is a risk that a court would decide that we are infringing the third party’s patents and would order us to stop the activities covered by the patents. In addition, there is a risk that a court would order us to pay the other party damages for having violated the other party’s patents. It is not always clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products or methods of use. The coverage of patents is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform.

Because some patent applications in the United States may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued, patent applications in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions are typically not published until eighteen months after filing, and publications in the scientific literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that others have not filed patent applications for technology covered by our issued patents or that we were the first to invent the technology. Our competitors may have filed, and may in the future file, patent applications covering technology similar to ours. Any such patent application may have priority over our patent applications and could further require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies. 

If another party has filed a United States patent application on inventions similar to ours, we may have to participate in an interference or other proceeding in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or the PTO, or a court to determine priority of invention in the United States. The costs of these proceedings could be substantial, and it is possible that such efforts would be unsuccessful, resulting in a loss of our United States patent position with respect to such inventions.

Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the capital necessary to continue our operations.

Risks Relating to Market Approval and Government Regulations

Compliance with regulation of corporate governance and public disclosure diverts time and attention away from revenue generating activities.

Our management team invests significant time and financial resources to comply with existing standards for public companies, which has lead to management time and attention from developing our business to compliance activities which could have an adverse effect on our business.

Our technology relies on our ability to gain the acceptance and approval of large banking / credit card institutions, the failure to do so may materially harm our business.

In the event that our SmartMetric Biometric Card does not gain acceptance/approval amongst the large card issuing institutions in the United States and abroad, our cards will not be provided for use to customers. We currently have no plans to open our own bank/credit card issuing institution and accordingly, we plan to rely on our ability to have our products accepted within the banking/credit card industries. Our failure to do so will have a material impact on our ability to generate revenues and continue to operate our business.

Risks Relating to the Development and Manufacturing of Our Products

We currently rely on third party manufacturers and suppliers for certain components of our product; with such parties being, to some extent, outside of our control.

We currently have limited internal manufacturing capability and intend to rely on third party contract manufacturers or suppliers for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, factors outside of our control may result in material manufacturing delays and product shortages, which could delay or otherwise negatively impact our manufacturing and product development plans. Should we be forced to manufacture our proposed products, we cannot give any assurance that we would be able to develop internal manufacturing capabilities. In the event that we seek third party suppliers or alternative manufacturers, they may require us to purchase a minimum amount of materials or could require other unfavorable terms. Any such event could materially impact our business prospects and could delay the development and manufacturing of our products. Moreover, we cannot give any assurance that the contract manufacturers or suppliers that we select will be able to supply our products in a timely or cost-effective manner or in accordance with our specifications.

We have a limited number of suppliers of key components and may experience difficulties in obtaining components for which there is significant demand, which would materially impact our business prospects.

We rely upon a limited number of suppliers for some key components of our products. Our reliance on a limited number of suppliers may expose us to various risks including, without limitation, an inadequate supply of components, price increases, late deliveries and poor component quality. In addition, some of the basic components we use in our products, such as biometric fingerprint devices and various smart card technologies may at any time be in great demand. This could result in components not being available to us in a timely manner or at all, particularly if larger companies have ordered more significant volumes of those components, or in higher prices being charged for components. Disruption or termination of the supply of components or software used in our products could delay shipments of these products. The following delays/factors from our third-party suppliers could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results and could also damage relationships with current and prospective customers:

We utilize third party manufacturing plants for silicon for the manufacturing our products, which, in the event of growth would need to use large quantities of silicon, for which raw material shortages may occur.

While we currently use silicon in our products, and no shortage currently exists of these materials, there can be no assurances that there will not be a shortage in the future, which may materially impact our manufacturing capabilities, growth prospects, and ability to generate revenue in the future.

Risks Related to our Securities

Our board of directors has broad discretion to issue additional securities.

We are authorized under our certificate of incorporation to issue up to 305,000,000 shares consisting of 300,000,000 shares of common stock and 5,000,000 “blank check” shares of preferred stock. Shares of our blank check preferred stock provide the board of directors with broad authority to determine voting, dividend, conversion, and other rights. As of June 30, 2019, we have issued and outstanding 264,648,821 shares of common stock; 610,000 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock that are convertible into 30,500,000 shares of common stock at the election of the holder; and 121,700 shares of shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock that are convertible into 16,901,408 shares of common stock. Additionally, we have 26,526,234 shares of common stock reserved upon the exercise of outstanding purchase warrants. Accordingly, as of June 30, 2019 we are entitled to issue up to 8,824,945 additional shares of common stock, and 4,390,000 additional shares of “blank check” preferred stock. Our board may generally issue those common and preferred shares, or convertible securities to purchase those shares, without further approval by our shareholders. Any additional preferred shares we may issue could have such rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions as may be designated from time-to-time by our board, including preferential dividend rights, voting rights, conversion rights, redemption rights and liquidation provisions.

It is likely that we will issue additional securities to raise capital in order to further our business plans. It is also likely that we will issue additional securities to directors, officers, employees and consultants as compensatory grants in connection with their services. Any issuances could be made at a price that reflects a discount to, or a premium from, the then-current market price of our common stock. These issuances would dilute the percentage ownership interest of our current shareholders, which would have the effect of reducing your influence on matters on which our stockholders vote and might dilute the net tangible book value per share of our common stock.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports or if they publish unfavorable research or reports, an active market for our common stock may not develop and the price of our common stock could decline.

We are a small company which is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stockbrokers, institutional investors and others in the investment community that generate or influence sales volume. Even if we come to the attention of such persons, they may be reluctant to follow or recommend an unproven company such as ours until such time as we became more seasoned and viable. Generally, the trading market for a company’s securities depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish. We currently have limited research coverage by securities and industry analysts. As a consequence, there may be periods of time when trading activity in our shares is minimal or non-existent, as compared to a seasoned issuer with significant research coverage. We cannot give you any assurance that a broader or more active public trading market for our common stock will develop or if developed, will be sustained, or that current trading levels could be sustained or not diminish. In addition, in the event any analyst downgrades our securities, the price of our shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases to cover us or fails to publish regular reports on us, interest in the purchase of our securities could decrease, which could cause the price of our common stock and its trading volume, if any, to decline.

Our common stock may be considered a “penny stock,” and may be subject to additional sale and trading regulations that may make it more difficult to sell.

Our common stock may be considered a “penny stock.” The principal result or effect of being designated a penny stock is that securities broker-dealers participating in sales of our common stock may be subject to the penny stock regulations set forth in Rules 15g-2 through 15g-9 promulgated under the Exchange Act. For example, Rule 15g-2 requires broker-dealers dealing in penny stocks to provide potential investors with a document disclosing the risks of penny stocks and to obtain a manually signed and dated written receipt of the document at least two business days before effecting any transaction in a penny stock for the investor’s account. Moreover, Rule 15g-9 requires broker-dealers in penny stocks to approve the account of any investor for transactions in such stocks before selling any penny stock to that investor. This procedure requires the broker-dealer to (i) obtain from the investor information concerning his or her financial situation, investment experience and investment objectives; (ii) reasonably determine, based on that information, that transactions in penny stocks are suitable for the investor and that the investor has sufficient knowledge and experience as to be reasonably capable of evaluating the risks of penny stock transactions; (iii) provide the investor with a written statement setting forth the basis on which the broker-dealer made the determination in (ii) above; and (iv) receive a signed and dated copy of such statement from the investor, confirming that it accurately reflects the investor’s financial situation, investment experience and investment objectives. Compliance with these requirements may make it more difficult and time consuming for holders of our common stock to resell their shares to third parties or to otherwise dispose of them in the market or otherwise.

Our CEO and Chairman, as the sole holder of our Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, controls our company.

Chaya Hendrick, our CEO and Chairman, holds (via shares in her name or shares in the name of an entity she controls - Applied Cryptography, Inc. (“ACI”)) all 610,000 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock outstanding. The outstanding shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to vote on any matter with the holders of Common Stock voting together as one (1) class and shall have that number of votes (identical in every other respect to the voting rights of the holder of common stock entitled to vote at any regular or special meeting of Stockholders) equal to that number of common shares which is not less than 51% of the vote required to approve any action, which Nevada law provides may or must be approved by vote or consent of the common shares or the holders of other securities entitled to vote, if any. Each share of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock is convertible, at the option of the holder, into fifty (50) shares of Common Stock upon the satisfaction of certain conditions and for purposes of determining a quorum of a shareholder meeting, the outstanding shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock shall be deemed the equivalent of 51% of all shares of the Company’s Common Stock entitled to vote at such meetings. Accordingly, Ms. Hendrick can (without the approval of our other shareholders) elect our entire Board of Directors and determine the outcome of various matters submitted to shareholders for approval, including fundamental corporate transactions. Voting control by Ms. Hendrick may discourage certain types of transactions involving an actual or potential change in control of us, including transactions in which the holders of our common stock might receive a premium for their shares over prevailing market prices.

Failure to maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results and stockholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our operating results could be harmed. Failure to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, regardless of whether we are required to maintain such controls, could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a material adverse effect on our stock price. The Company’s management assessed the design and operating effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2019 based on the framework set forth in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. In connection with the assessment described above, management identified control deficiencies that represented a material weakness at June 30, 2019. See “Item 9A. Controls and Procedures” for more detailed discussion.

We have not paid dividends on our common stock in the past and do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any return on investment may be limited to the value of our common stock.

No cash dividends have been paid on our common stock. We expect that any income received from operations will be devoted to our future operations and growth. We do not expect to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the near future. Payment of dividends would depend upon our profitability at the time, cash available for those dividends, and other factors as our board of directors may consider relevant. If we do not pay dividends, our common stock may be less valuable because a return on an investor’s investment will only occur if our stock price appreciates.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members.

The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls for financial reporting. For example, Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires that our management report on, and our independent auditors attest to, the effectiveness of our internal controls structure and procedures for financial reporting. Section 404 compliance may divert internal resources and will take a significant amount of time and effort to complete. We may not be able to successfully complete the procedures and certification and attestation requirements of Section 404 by the time we will be required to do so. If we fail to do so, or if in the future our chief executive officer, chief financial officer or independent registered public accounting firm determines that our internal controls over financial reporting are not effective as defined under Section 404, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Furthermore, investor perceptions of our company may suffer, and this could cause a decline in the market price of our common stock. Irrespective of compliance with Section 404, any failure of our internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our stated results of operations and harm our reputation. If we are unable to implement these changes effectively or efficiently, it could harm our operations, financial reporting or financial results and could result in an adverse opinion on internal controls from our independent auditors. We may need to hire a number of additional employees with public accounting and disclosure experience in order to meet our ongoing obligations as a public company, which will increase costs. Our management team and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to new compliance initiatives and to meeting the obligations that are associated with being a public company, which may divert attention from other business concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, because our management team has limited experience managing a public company, we may not successfully or efficiently manage our transition into a public company.