Item 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

As of September 30, 2021, an evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rules 13a–15(e) and 15d–15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”)). Based on that evaluation, the Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is (i) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms and (ii) accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. There was no change in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting during the Company’s most recently completed fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting.

During 2018, the Company launched Readiness to drive new efficiencies and improve the customer experience in the Company’s existing businesses through a combination of data analytics, process simplification and standardization, and behavioral and cultural change, building upon its earlier 1ADM and operational excellence programs. As part of this transformation, the Company is implementing a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system on a worldwide basis, which is expected to occur in phases over the next several years. The Company is also beginning the transition of certain portions of its corporate operations to a global professional services firm which is expected to be substantially completed by end of fiscal 2021. The Company continues to consider these changes in its design of and testing for effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting and concluded, as part of the evaluation described in the above paragraph, that the implementation of the new ERP system and the transition of certain corporate operations to a professional services firm in these circumstances have not materially affected its internal control over financial reporting.

PART II – OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

The Company is routinely involved in a number of actual or threatened legal actions, including those involving alleged personal injuries, employment law, product liability, intellectual property, environmental issues, alleged tax liability (see Note 11 for information on income tax matters), and class actions. The Company also routinely receives inquiries from regulators and other government authorities relating to various aspects of our business, and at any given time, the Company has matters at various stages of resolution. The outcomes of these matters are not within our complete control and may not be known for prolonged periods of time. In some actions, claimants seek damages, as well as other relief including injunctive relief, that could require significant expenditures or result in lost revenues. In accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Company records a liability in its consolidated financial statements for material loss contingencies when a loss is known or considered probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. If the reasonable estimate of a known or probable loss is a range, and no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other, the minimum amount of the range is accrued. If a material loss contingency is reasonably possible but not known or probable, and can be reasonably estimated, the estimated loss or range of loss is disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. When determining the estimated loss or range of loss, significant judgment is required to estimate the amount and timing of a loss to be recorded. Estimates of probable losses resulting from litigation and governmental proceedings involving the Company are inherently difficult to predict, particularly when the matters are in early procedural stages, with incomplete facts or legal discovery; involve unsubstantiated or indeterminate claims for damages; potentially involve penalties, fines, disgorgement, or punitive damages; or could result in a change in business practice.

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS (Continued)

On September 4, 2019, AOT Holding AG (AOT) filed a putative class action under the U.S. Commodities Exchange Act in federal district court in Urbana, Illinois, alleging that the Company sought to manipulate the benchmark price used to price and settle ethanol derivatives traded on futures exchanges. On March 16, 2021, AOT filed an amended complaint adding a second named plaintiff Maize Capital Group, LLC. AOT and Maize allege that members of the putative class suffered “hundreds of millions of dollars in damages” as a result of the Company’s alleged actions. On July 14, 2020, Green Plains Inc. and its related entities (“GP”) filed a putative class action lawsuit, alleging substantially the same operative facts, in federal court in Nebraska, seeking to represent sellers of ethanol. On July 23, 2020, Midwest Renewable Energy, LLC (“MRE”) filed a putative class action in federal court in Illinois alleging substantially the same operative facts and asserting claims under the Sherman Act. On November 11, 2020, United Wisconsin Grain Producers LLC (“UWGP”) and five other ethanol producers filed a lawsuit in federal court in Illinois alleging substantially the same facts and asserting claims under the Sherman Act and Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin law. The court granted ADM’s motion to dismiss the MRE and UWGP complaints without prejudice on August 9, 2021 and September 28, 2021, respectively. On August 16, 2021, the court granted ADM’s motion to dismiss the GP complaint, dismissing one claim with prejudice and declining jurisdiction over the remaining state law claim. MRE filed an amended complaint on August 30, 2021, which ADM moved to dismiss on September 27, 2021. UWGP filed an amended complaint on October 19, 2021. The Company denies liability, and is vigorously defending itself in these actions. As these actions are in pretrial proceedings, the Company is unable at this time to predict the final outcome with any reasonable degree of certainty, but believes the outcome will not have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

The Company is not currently a party to any legal proceeding or environmental claim that it believes would have a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations, or liquidity.