A Dark Vector Cognition product

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

6K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act as of September 30, 2022. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information we are required to disclose in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our CEO and CFO, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures, and is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Based on this evaluation, our CEO and CFO have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level as of September 30, 2022.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There have been no significant changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended September 30, 2022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Inherent Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls

Management recognizes that a control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud or error, if any, have been detected. These inherent limitations include the

Table of Contents

realities that judgments in decision making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

Table of Contents

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we are subject to various legal proceedings, litigation and claims, either asserted or unasserted, that arise in the ordinary course of business. Although the outcome of the various legal proceedings, litigation and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, management does not believe that any of these proceedings or other claims will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.

On June 28, 2021, a class action lawsuit captioned City Pension Fund for Firefighters and Police Officers in the City of Miami Beach v. The Trade Desk, Inc., et al., No. 2021-0560 was filed against us, the members of our board of directors and one of our executive officers in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware. The complaint alleged generally that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties to our stockholders in connection with the negotiation and approval of the amendments to our certificate of incorporation and related matters voted on at the Special Meeting of Stockholders held on December 22, 2020. On February 1, 2022, the defendants moved to dismiss the complaint, and on July 29, 2022, the court dismissed the complaint in its entirety with prejudice.

On May 27, 2022, a stockholder filed a derivative lawsuit captioned Huizenga v. Green, et al., No. 2022-0461, asserting claims on our behalf against certain members of our board of directors in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware. On June 27, 2022, a second derivative lawsuit captioned Pfeiffer v. Green, et al., No. 2022-0560, was filed in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware alleging substantially similar claims. Those lawsuits were consolidated on August 18, 2022, and a lead plaintiff was appointed on October 7, 2022. The two complaints allege generally that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties to us and our stockholders in connection with the negotiation and approval of the CEO Performance Option. The plaintiffs seek a court order rescinding the CEO Performance Option and monetary damages. The defendants expect the lead plaintiff to file a consolidated complaint, and the defendants intend to move to dismiss the consolidated complaint.

Litigation is inherently uncertain and there can be no assurance regarding the likelihood that the motions to dismiss or defense of the various actions will be successful.

Previous: Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk · Next: Item 1A. Risk Factors