ITEM 7 - MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Disclaimer Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contains not only statements that are historical facts, but also statements that are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are, by their very nature, uncertain and risky. These risks and uncertainties include international, national and local general economic and market conditions; demographic changes; our ability to sustain, manage, or forecast growth; our ability to successfully make and integrate acquisitions; raw material costs and availability; new product development and introduction; existing government regulations and changes in, or the failure to comply with, government regulations; adverse publicity; competition; the loss of significant customers or suppliers; fluctuations and difficulty in forecasting operating results; changes in business strategy or development plans; business disruptions; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the ability to protect technology; and other risks that might be detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Although the forward-looking statements in this Annual Report reflect the good faith judgment of our management, such statements can only be based on facts and factors currently known by them. Consequently, and because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, the actual results and outcomes may differ materially from the results and outcomes discussed in the forward-looking statements. You are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in this report and in our other reports as we attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations and prospects.
Overview
We provide organizations with non-invasive technology to identify the presence of alcohol quickly and safely with its employees, contractors, participants or patients. These technologies are integrated within our robust and scalable data platform, producing statistical and measurable user and business data. Our mission is to save lives, increase productivity, create significant economic benefits and positively impact behavior. To that end, we developed the scalable, patent-pending SOBRsafeTM software platform for non-invasive alcohol detection and identity verification, a solution that has applications in probation management, fleet & facility, and for outpatient alcohol rehabilitation and youth drivers in a wearable form. We believe that uniform daily use of our device could result in material insurance savings across Workers’ Compensation, general liability, umbrella and fleet policies.
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We are now in commercial production and sale of our SOBRcheckTM solution. We have executed customer agreements and have had revenue since the first quarter 2022.
Our second device, a wearable wristband SOBRsureTM, utilizes the same SOBRsafeTM hardware/software platform. The primary intended applications include probation management, fleet & facility, outpatient alcohol rehabilitation and youth drivers. The wearable band will be commercially available in the second quarter of 2023.
Design, manufacturing, quality testing and distribution for all SOBRsafeTM devices will take place in the United States.
Our SOBRsafeTM technology can also be deployed across numerous additional devices for various uses; among those we are currently exploring include possible integrations with existing telematics systems, and it could be licensed by non-competitive third parties.
Recent Developments
During the year ended December 31, 2022 we accomplished the following:
· Paid off $3.0 million of convertible debt.
· Began first commercial sales of SOBRcheckTM device.
· Awarded the Safe Family Seal of Approval by the Child Safety Network.
Business Outlook and Challenges
Our products continue to gain awareness and recognition through trade shows, media exposure, social media and product demonstrations. To generate sales, we have a three-part strategy: 1) direct sales, 2) distributors and 3) licensing & integration. We currently employ four highly experienced sales professionals. We have signed nine distributors, representing an additional 29 sales professionals actively introducing our solutions to established drug and alcohol testing buyers. Finally, initial licensing & integration discussions are underway, and we anticipate hiring an expert in this field in 2023 to formulate and execute a global expansion plan.
We anticipate that our outsourced manufacturers can adequately support an increase in sales for the foreseeable future. We expect that we will need to continue to evolve our products and software to meet diverse customer requirements across varied markets.
Since inception in August 2007, we have generated significant losses from operations and anticipate that we will continue to generate significant losses for the foreseeable future.
Impact of COVID-19 on our Business
We are closely monitoring the coronavirus and the directives from federal and local authorities regarding not only our workforce, but how it impacts companies we work with for the development of our SOBRSafeTM technology and the devices that deploy that technology. The extent to which the COVID-19 continues to impact our financial conditions and results of operations, or those of our third-party suppliers, will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence at this time, including the duration of new outbreaks, information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions being taken to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. Governmental agencies can fluctuate in their implementation of social distancing and “work from home” regulations. If those regulations increase then the chances increase that more and more companies may be forced to either shut down, slow down or alter their work routines. Since the development and testing of our SOBR technologies and the potential platform devices is a “hands on” process, these alternative work arrangements could significantly slow down our anticipated schedules for the marketing and sale of our SOBR devices, which could have a negative impact on our business. Given the daily evolution of the COVID-19 variants and the global responses to curb its spread, we are not able to estimate the effects of the COVID-19 on our results of operations, financial condition, or liquidity for fiscal year 2023. However, as the COVID-19 variants continue, it could have an adverse effect on our results of future operations, financial position and liquidity in fiscal year 2023.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of our audited consolidated financial statements and related disclosures require our management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the audited consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported period. We base such estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions.
As part of the process of preparing our financial statements, we are required to estimate our provision for income taxes. Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities, tax contingencies, unrecognized tax benefits, and any required valuation allowance, including taking into consideration the probability of the tax contingencies being incurred. Management assesses this probability based upon information provided by its tax advisers, its legal advisers and similar tax cases. If later our assessment of the probability of these tax contingencies changes, our accrual for such tax uncertainties may increase or decrease. Our effective tax rate for annual and interim reporting periods could be impacted if uncertain tax positions that are not recognized are settled at an amount which differs from our estimates.
Some of our accounting policies require higher degrees of judgment than others in their application. These include share-based compensation and contingencies and areas such as revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, valuation of inventory and intangible assets, and impairments.
While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in the notes to our audited consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K, we believe that the following accounting policies are those most critical to the judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
The Company enters contracts with customers and generates revenue through various combinations of software products and services which include the sale of cloud-based software solutions, detection and data collection hardware devices, and cloud-based data reporting and analysis services. Depending on the combination of products and services detailed in the respective customer contract, the identifiable components may be highly interdependent and interrelated with each other such that each is required to provide the substance of the value of SOBR’s offering and accounted for as a combined performance obligation, or the specific components may be generally distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. Revenue is recognized when control of these software products and/or services are transferred to the customer in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for these respective services and devices.
Revenue is recognized in conjunction with guidance provided by Accounting Standards Codification Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”) issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The Company determines revenue recognition through five steps outlined in ASC 606 which include (1) the identification of the contract or contracts with a customer, (2) identification of individual or combined performance obligations contained in the contract, (3) determination of the transaction price detailed within the contract, (4) allocation of the transaction price to the specific performance obligations, and (5) finally, recognition of revenue as the Company’s performance obligations are satisfied according to the terms of the contract.
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Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
Customer accounts are monitored for potential credit losses based upon management’s assessment of expected collectability and the allowance for doubtful accounts is reviewed periodically to assess the adequacy of the allowance. In making this assessment, management takes into consideration any circumstances of which the Company is aware regarding a customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations to the Company, and any potential prevailing economic conditions and their impact on the Company’s customers.
Valuation of Inventory
Inventory is comprised primarily component parts and finished products. We periodically make judgments and estimates regarding the future utility and carrying value of our inventory. The carrying value of our inventory is periodically reviewed and impairments, if any, are recognized when the expected future benefit from our inventory is less than carrying value.
Financial Instruments
An entity is required to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. The fair value hierarchy is based on the level of independent, objective evidence surrounding the inputs used to measure fair value. A financial instrument’s categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
The Company’s financial instruments consist primarily of cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, accrued interest payable, notes payable, related party payables, convertible debentures, and other payables. The fair value of our derivative liabilities is determined based on “Level 3” inputs. We believe that the recorded values of all of our other financial instruments approximate their current fair values because of their nature and respective maturity dates or durations.
Beneficial Conversion Features
From time to time, the Company may issue convertible notes that may contain an embedded beneficial conversion feature. A beneficial conversion feature exists on the date a convertible note is issued when the fair value of the underlying common stock to which the note is convertible into is in excess of the remaining unallocated proceeds of the note after first considering the allocation of a portion of the note proceeds to the fair value of the warrants, if related warrants have been granted. The intrinsic value of the beneficial conversion feature is recorded as a debt discount with a corresponding amount to additional paid-in capital. The debt discount is amortized to interest expense over the life of the note using the effective interest method.
Derivative Instruments
The fair value of derivative instruments is recorded and shown separately under current liabilities. Changes in fair value are recorded in the consolidated statement of operations under other income (expense).
The accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments requires that the Company record the embedded conversion option at its fair value as of the inception date of the agreement and at fair value as of each subsequent balance sheet date. Any change in fair value is recorded as non-operating, non-cash income or expense for each reporting period at each balance sheet date. If the classification changes as a result of events during the period, the contract is reclassified as of the date of the event that caused the reclassification. As a result of entering into warrant agreements, for which such instruments contained a variable conversion feature with no floor, the Company has adopted a sequencing policy whereby all future instruments may be classified as a derivative liability with the exception of instruments related to share-based compensation issued to employees or directors. For stock-based derivative financial instruments, the Company uses a Monte Carlo Simulation model to value the derivative instruments at inception and on subsequent valuation dates. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative instrument liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement of the derivative instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date.
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The Company evaluates all of its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instruments are initially recorded at their fair values and are then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the consolidated statements of operations.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets and identifiable intangibles held for use are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. If the sum of undiscounted expected future cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset or if changes in facts and circumstances indicate, an impairment loss is recognized and measured using the asset’s fair value.
Stock-based Compensation
The Company uses the fair-value based method to determine compensation for all arrangements under which employees and others receive shares of stock or equity instruments (warrants, options and restricted stock units). The fair value of each warrant and option is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes options-pricing model that uses assumptions for expected volatility, expected dividends, expected term, and the risk-free interest rate. The Company has not paid dividends historically and does not expect to pay them in the future. Expected volatilities are based on weighted averages of the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock estimated over the expected term of the awards. The expected term of awards granted is derived using the “simplified method” which computes expected term as the average of the sum of the vesting term plus the contract term as historically the Company had limited activity surrounding its awards. The risk-free rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for the period of the expected term. The grant date fair value of a restricted stock unit equals the closing price of our common stock on the trading day of the grant date.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
New pronouncements issued for future implementation are discussed in Note 1 to our financial statements.
Effects of Inflation
We do not believe that inflation has had a material impact on our business, revenue or operating results during the periods presented. However, continued increases in inflation could have an adverse effect on our results of future operations, financial position, and liquidity in 2023.
The following discussion:
· summarizes our results of operations; and
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Results of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Summary of Results of Operations
Year Ended December 31,
Cost of goods sold 19,315 -
Operating expenses:
Other income (expense):
Other income (expense), net 230,414 -
Gain on debt extinguishment, net 245,105 -
Gain (loss) on fair value adjustment-derivatives, net 1,040,000 (60,000 )
Amortization of interest – debt discount (921,488 ) (835,081 )
Operating Loss; Net Loss
Our net loss increased by $4,484,552 from $7,870,378 to $12,354,930 for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The change in our net loss and operating loss for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to the prior year, is primarily a result of acceleration of our planned strategic operational and financing activities resulting in increases in interest and other financing related costs, general and administrative expenses, and stock-based compensation expense. The changes are detailed below.
Revenue
Prior to the year ended December 31, 2021, we progressed to commercial production, launch and sale of our first SOBRcheckTM devices and software solution to initial customers with our devices being delivered for use in January 2022. We have executed customer agreements, invoiced these customers and recognized revenue of $35,322 during the year ended December 31, 2022.
Gross Profit
The cost of goods sold for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $19,315 resulting in a gross profit of $16,007 and a gross margin of 45.3%. Due to the limited history of generating revenue, the gross profit and gross margin for the year ended December 31, 2022 may not be indicative of future planned or actual performance of the Company, its product lines or services.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses increased by $3,723,512, from $3,882,706 for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $7,606,218 for the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to increases in payroll expense, insurance, marketing and promotion, and professional fees including legal, accounting, investor relations and other professional fees.
Stock-Based Compensation Expense
We had stock-based compensation expense of $1,426,178 for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $473,748 for the year ended December 31, 2021. The stock-based compensation expense in 2022 was related to the issuance of our common stock and restricted stock units as compensation to certain directors and employees.
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Research and Development
Research and development increased by $198,273, to $1,397,053 for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $1,198,780 for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in research and development can be attributed to the finalization of our SOBRsureTM wearable device and SOBRsafe TM software platform during the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to full development activities in the prior year for the SOBRcheck TM device and initiation of the SOBRsafe TM software platform in preparation to commercialize the device in January 2022.
Other Income (Expense), net
Other income was $230,414 for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to none for the year ended December 31, 2021. Other income in 2022 consists primarily of refunded payroll taxes under the provisions of the Federal Employee Retention Credit and interest income.
Gain on Extinguishment of Debt, net
Gain on extinguishment of debt, net was $245,105 for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to none for the year ended December 31, 2021. On May 19, 2022, pursuant to an arrangement with the Convertible Debenture holder, the principal balance of the Debenture in default of $3,048,781, was paid in full satisfying all amounts due and accrued under the default, including penalty, damages and interest provisions of the agreement. The Company was not required to pay the penalty, damages and interest provision of the agreement, thus a gain on extinguishment of debt of $1,109,105 was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2022. This gain has been offset by a loss on extinguishment of debt of $864,000 related to the fair value of the original warrants issued and extended for an additional two-year period in conjunction with the Convertible Debenture which was in default.
Gain (loss) on Fair Value Adjustment – Derivatives, net
Fair value adjustment – derivatives, net was a loss of ($60,000) for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to a gain of $1,040,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022 which was related to a financial instrument issued in September 2021 that contained an embedded derivative liability component. Upon completing a cash payment of $3,048,781 for the principal balance of the Convertible Debenture on May 19, 2022, the voluntary and automatic conversion features associated with the derivative liability no longer existed and the fair value of the derivative liability as of that date was adjusted to zero.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased by $1,115,456 from $1,420,063 for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $2,535,519 for the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase is primarily attributable to a one-time debt default penalty of $914,634 related to the Convertible Debenture during the year ended December 31, 2022.
Amortization of Interest – Debt Discount
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we had amortization of interest – debt discount expense of $921,488 compared to $835,081 during the year ended December 31, 2021. The expense for both periods were related to the amortized discount on convertible notes payable.
Liquidity and Capital Resources for the Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Introduction
During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company has incurred recurring losses from operations. Future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including the Company’s ability to sell and develop products, generate cash flow from operations, and assess competing market developments. The Company may need additional capital in the future.
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Management believes that the net offering proceeds, including warrants exercised, of approximately $19,646,000 from the Underwritten Public Offering and PIPE Offering in 2022 and the Debt Offering in March 2023, after the 2023 payments required for the convertible notes payable and accrued interest of approximately $2,439,000, provide adequate working capital for operating activities for the next twelve months after the date the financial statements are issued.
Our cash, current assets, total assets, current liabilities, and total liabilities as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, are as follows:
Our current assets and total assets increased as of December 31, 2022, as compared to December 31, 2021, primarily due to the completed underwritten public offering, PIPE Offering and warrant proceeds, net of offering costs, of approximately $17,146,000, offset by payment of the principal amount of $3,048,781 for the past due Convertible Debenture and use of cash to support our negative cash flow from operations.
Our current liabilities decreased as of December 31, 2022, as compared to December 31, 2021. This decrease was primarily due to the payment of the principal amount of $3,048,781 and amortization of beneficial conversion features for a net decrease of $1,756,899 for the past due Convertible Debenture, which is offset by private placement notes payable becoming current of $1,803,049, net of discounts and beneficial conversion features. Other decreases include decreases in accounts payable of $127,185, accrued expenses payable of $71,618, derivative liability of $1,040,000, and related parties payable of $80,996, offset by increased accrued interest of $217,581.
Sources and Uses of Cash
Operations
We had net cash used in operating activities of $6,156,172 for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to net cash used in operating activities of $3,688,302 for the year ended December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the net cash used in operating activities consisted primarily of our net loss of $12,354,930 offset by non-cash items including amortization of $385,464, amortization of interest – conversion features of $921,488, amortization of interest of $423,782, stock options expense of $1,582,217, stock-based compensation expense of $1,426,178, stock warrants expense of $950,316, and stock issued for professional services of $864,500, offset by a change in fair value of derivative liability of ($1,040,000) and gain on extinguishment of debt of ($245,105). The net loss and non-cash items have been offset by changes in our assets and liabilities primarily from sources of cash from accrued expenses of $1,037,486, prepaid expenses of $86,238, accrued interest payable of $217,581, and other assets of $3,148, balanced by uses of cash for inventory of ($176,032), accounts payable of ($127,185), related party payables of ($80,996) and accounts receivable of ($30,322). For the year ended December 31, 2021, the net cash used in operating activities consisted primarily of our net loss of $7,870,378 offset by - amortization of $385,464, change in fair value of derivative liability of $60,000, amortization of interest – conversion features of $835,081, amortization of interest of $1,231,661, stock options expense of $723,262, stock-based compensation expense of $473,748, and changes in our assets and liabilities of inventory of ($39,461), prepaid expenses of $42,585, other assets of ($21,896), accounts payable of $168,842, accrued expenses of $150,865, accrued interest payable of $117,666, and related party payables of $54,259
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Investments
We had no cash provided by or used for investing activities during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Financing
Our net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $13,852,901, compared to $4,337,728 for the year ended December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2022, our net cash from financing activities consisted of net proceeds from public equity offering of $8,694,363, net proceeds from private equity offering of $5,121,973, and net proceeds from the exercise of stock warrants of $3,328,143, offset by repayments of convertible debenture payable of ($3,048,781) and notes payable to non-related parties of ($242,797). For the year ended December 31, 2021, our net cash from financing activities consisted of proceeds from notes payable – non-related parties of $1,005,000, proceeds from notes payable – related parties of $1,030,000, proceeds from convertible debenture payable of $2,500,000, proceeds from the exercise of stock warrants $88,470, proceeds from the exercise of stock options of $19,258, repayments of notes payable-related parties of ($30,000), and debt issuance costs of ($275,000).
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
At December 31, 2022, the Company had no financial commitments and was not committed to material contractual obligations for the design, production, delivery or assemble of its software platform or associated devices, or commercial leases.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have no off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.
ITEM 7A – QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
As a smaller reporting company we are not required to provide the information required by this Item.
ITEM 8 ‐ FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
For a list of financial statements and supplementary data filed as part of this Annual Report, see the Index to Financial Statements beginning at page F-1 of this Annual Report.
ITEM 9 ‐ CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.
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ITEM 9A - CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (our Principal Executive Officer) and Chief Financial Officer (our Principal Accounting Officer), of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a – 15(c) and 15d – 15(e)). Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, who are our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, respectively, concluded that, as of the end of the year ended December 31, 2022, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective (1) to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (2) to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to us, including our Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer do not expect that our disclosure controls or internal controls will prevent all error and all fraud. No matter how well conceived and operated, our disclosure controls and procedures can provide only a reasonable level of assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. 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, if any, within the Company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the 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 if there exists in an individual a desire to do so. There can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Furthermore, smaller reporting companies face additional limitations. Smaller reporting companies employ fewer individuals and find it difficult to properly segregate duties. Often, one or two individuals control every aspect of the Company's operation and are in a position to override any system of internal control. Additionally, smaller reporting companies tend to utilize general accounting software packages that lack a rigorous set of software controls.
(b) Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Rules 13a-15(c) and 15d-15(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act, as amended, as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, 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 in the United States and includes those policies and procedures that:
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 our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Our management assesses the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting on a quarterly basis, with the most recent assessment being conducted as of December 31, 2022. In making these assessments, our management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued in 2013. Based on this assessment, Management has identified the following two material weaknesses that have caused management to conclude that, as of December 31, 2022, our disclosure controls and procedures, and our internal control over financial reporting, were not effective at the reasonable assurance level:
(i) We do not have sufficient segregation of duties within accounting functions, which is a basic internal control. Due to our size and nature, segregation of all conflicting duties may not always be possible and may not be economically feasible. During 2022 we hired a Chief Financial Officer to support our Chief Executive Officer who previously served as our Chief Financial Officer, and hired a Vice President of Finance and Accounting to improve disclosure controls and procedures. In February 2023, we hired a controller to support additional segregation of financial and internal controls. We realize there is an inherent weakness with only 1-2 individuals being responsible for our accounting and the preparation of our financial statements. To the extent possible, the initiation of transactions, the custody of assets and the recording of transactions should be performed by separate individuals. Management evaluated the impact of our failure to have segregation of duties on our assessment of our disclosure controls and procedures and has concluded that the control deficiency that resulted represented a material weakness.
(ii) We have not documented all our internal controls. We have limited policies and procedures that cover the recording and reporting of financial transactions and accounting provisions. As a result, we may be delayed in our ability to calculate certain accounting provisions. While we believe these provisions are accounted for correctly in the attached audited financial statements, our lack of internal controls could lead to a delay in our reporting obligations. We are required to provide written documentation of key internal controls over financial reporting. Management evaluated the impact of our failure to have written documentation of our internal controls and procedures on our assessment of our disclosure controls and procedures and has concluded that the control deficiency that resulted represented a material weakness.
To address these material weaknesses, management performed additional analyses and other procedures to ensure that the financial statements included herein fairly present, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. Accordingly, we believe that the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report fairly present, in all material respects, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented.
(c) Remediation of Material Weaknesses
In order to remediate the material weakness in our documentation, evaluation and testing of internal controls, we hired a new Chief Financial Officer and a Vice President of Finance and Accounting in 2022, and a controller in February 2023. These new hires will significantly decrease the risk associated with the identified material weaknesses including segregation of duties, design, and documentation of internal controls. However, we may need to hire additional qualified and experienced personnel to assist us in further remedying these material weaknesses, especially with our transactional accounting and the preparation of our financial statements. To that end, we plan to hire additional qualified individuals whose primary job responsibilities will be performing day-to-day accounting-related functions.
(d) Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in our internal controls over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, such internal control over financial reporting.
ITEM 9B – OTHER INFORMATION
None.
ITEM 9C – DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS
Not applicable.
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PART III
ITEM 10 - DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
Directors and Executive Officers
The following table sets forth the names and ages of our directors, director nominees, and executive officers as of March 14, 2023, the principal offices and positions with the Company held by each person and the date such person became a director or executive officer of the Company. The executive officers of the Company are elected annually by the Board of Directors. The directors serve one-year terms until their successors are elected. The executive officers serve terms of one year or until their death, resignation, or removal by the Board of Directors. Unless described below, there are no family relationships among any of the directors and officers.
Name Age Position(s)
Jerry Wenzel 68 Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Noreen Butler 49 Independent Director
Sandy Shoemaker 54 Independent Director (Chairperson of Audit Committee)
Scott Bennett 62 Executive Vice President of Business Operations
David Gandini has served as our Chief Executive Officer since October 18, 2021 and on our Board of Directors since November 2019. Mr. Gandini has been consulting regarding our business development since December 2018. Since September 2018, Mr. Gandini has also been a managing partner with First Capital Advisory Services, where he is responsible for capital creation, new business acquisition, business strategy and development, and partnership revenue generation. From 2014 to August 2017, Mr. Gandini was President of Alchemy Plastics, Inc., Englewood Colorado where he was responsible for US manufacturing, sales, and strategic partnerships. From 2001 until 2014, when the company was acquired, Mr. Gandini served as the President of IPS Denver, a bank card personalization and packaging entity where he managed the company and market transformations to become a leader in the U.S. secured gift market space with revenues of $46M. Prior to his engagement at IPS, Mr. Gandini was the Chief Operations Officer at First World Communications, a major U.S. Internet and Data Center provider, and participated in its successful IPO in 2000 raising over $200M. Previously, Mr. Gandini founded Pace Network Services providing carrier SS7 signaling to U.S. long distance providers and facilitated a successful exit to ICG Communications on the heels of co-founding Detroit based Digital Signal in the fiber optic long haul market sector where me managed a successful exit to SP Telecom.
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Mr. Gandini graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Telecommunications. He was a scholarship NCAA Division Hockey athlete, a member of the US Junior National Team, and a US Junior All American.
Jerry Wenzel has served as our Chief Financial Officer since January 2022. Prior to SOBRsafe, Mr. Wenzel was a partner in the firm B2BCFO® from 2018 through 2021, providing strategic financial leadership to business owners regarding growth and transaction opportunities. From 2016 to 2018, he was the Chief Financial Officer for PRIDE Centric Resources, Inc., a national commercial food service equipment buying group. In this position Jerry was responsible for all financial reporting responsibilities, including vendor rebate programs, cash management, internal controls and reporting to the Audit Committee and Board of Directors. From 1998 to 2016, Mr. Wenzel served as Chief Financial Officer for several manufacturing businesses and a residential real estate franchisee serving Colorado. Prior to his Chief Financial Officer positions, Mr. Wenzel was an audit and consulting partner in two Denver-based practices and a national CPA firm.
Mr. Wenzel has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1980 and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. Mr. Wenzel is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Colorado Society of CPAs (CSCPA) and past member of the AICPA SEC Division for Firms Peer Review Committee and CSCPA Quality Review Board.
Ford B. Fay has served as a member of our Board of Directors since June 2020 and serves as the Chairperson of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board of Directors. Mr. Fay is currently the Director at Crown Castle International Corp., a large fiber-based telecommunications company. In this position Mr. Fay manages all aspects of Network Access Life Cycle for the company. He has held this position since 2020. From 2017 to 2020, Mr. Fay was a principal with Eagle Bay Advisors, LLC, a telecommunications consulting firm. In this position, Mr. Fay assisted clients with cost and efficiency improvements in Access Management across the life cycle spectrum of Access. From 2015 to 2017, Mr. Fay was the Vice President, Access Management for Zayo Communications. In this position Mr. Fay created and managed most aspects of offnet costs, such as, vendor selection, contracting, procurement, quoting, operationalization, vendor management, offnet ordering, offnet grooming and optimization. In this position, Mr. Fay also planned and executed the network integrations of the $1.4B acquisition of Electric Lightwave and the $350M acquisition of Canadian-based Allstream. Mr. Fay received his Bachelor of Science in Operations Research & Industrial Engineering from Cornell University, and his Master of Business Administration from University of Rochester, Simon School of Business.
J. Steven Beabout has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020 and serves as the Chairperson of the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors. Since 2018, Mr. Beabout has been consulting with various startup companies and involved in real estate investing. From 2016-2018, Mr. Beabout was General Counsel of Tectonic, LLC, a SaaS company specializing in big data analytics and customer relationship management (CRM). In this position, Mr. Beabout was in charge of Tectonic’s legal department and negotiated deals with large companies like Coca-Cola, Anhueser-Busch and Wyndham Hotels. From 1996 to 2015, Mr. Beabout was General Counsel and a member of the strategic management team (executive vice-president) of Starz, a company listed on NASDAQ that competes with HBO and Netflix. During his time there, Mr. Beabout assisted with other key management personnel to grow the business from a start-up with $100M in losses to a multi-billiondollar public company. As part of strategic management team, Mr. Beabout was involved in the company’s strategic business decisions and as General Counsel he was responsible for all legal aspects of business, including, but not limited to, negotiation of billion dollar plus contacts with major studios (Universal, Disney and Sony), and distributors (Comcast, Time- Warner, DIRECTV, DISH Networks, Netflix, etc.), human resources and related matters, general corporate matters, post-IPO public board matters, and reviewing filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Noreen Butler has served as a member of our Board of Directors since October 2022. Ms. Butler’s experience combines over 12 years in senior management and recruitment, following a 7-year career in business development. She is currently the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RubiCorp Technologies, Inc., a private ridesharing company focused on safely transporting children ages 7+ for busy families and those in need of a safe, trusted ride. Previously, Ms. Butler had been involved in several companies in real estate, biotechnology and the technology industry, holding positions including Senior Advisor, Director of Business Development and Chief Executive Officer. From 2015 through June 2016, Ms. Butler was the Director of Business Development for Frozen Egg Bank Network, a division of global fertility company Donor Egg Bank. From 2016 to 2018, she was a Senior Advisor for Cresa, an international commercial real estate company. Ms. Butler has an undergraduate degree in Communications from Pine Manor College.
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Sandy Shoemaker has served as a member of our Board of Directors since December 2021 and serves as Chairperson of the audit committee of our Board of Directors. Ms. Shoemaker retired from public accounting in June 2021 to focus on consulting with small-medium sized companies. She was a partner in the audit service area of EKS&H/Plante Moran and was involved in public accounting since 1990, serving publicly traded and privately held companies. She led the EKS&H SEC practice for several years. Ms. Shoemaker’s experience includes initial and secondary public offerings, reverse mergers, annual and quarterly audits/reviews of public companies, responses to SEC comment letters, assisting with implementation of new accounting pronouncements, business acquisitions, stock-based compensation, and internal controls. Ms. Shoemaker has provided services to companies in the various industries such as bio-tech, franchising, distribution, manufacturing, medical-device, restaurants and real estate industries. She also has extensive experience in working with employee-owned companies. Ms. Shoemaker has numerous professional affiliations including, but limited to, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants (CSCPA), and the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO). Ms. Shoemaker received her B.S. in Accounting, graduating cum laude, from Southwest Missouri State University.
Scott Bennett has served as our Executive Vice President, Business Operations since October 2021. Prior to joining SOBRsafe, Mr. Bennett co-founded cybersecurity firm GBprotect in 2001, and served as its COO from 2017 to 2019 until its successful sale to Nuspire in 2019. After the sale to Nuspire, Mr. Bennett stayed on with Nuspire as its Vice President, Service Operations from 2019 to 2020. In this position he was responsible for maintaining the legacy client base and was a key contributor to the integration strategy of all personnel and the migration of the legacy client base. In addition to his technical contributions to GBprotect, Mr. Bennett was also responsible for key business functions such as quality assurance, inventory management and customer service. Mr. Bennett previously served as CTO/CISO of fintech businesses Catalyst Card Company from 2013 to 2017 and Integrated Printing Solutions from 2004 to 2013. Mr. Bennett has also been the principal owner of The Bennett Group from 2001 to 2021. The Bennett Group provides consulting services to developing business organizations at both start-up and established corporate environments in the areas of compliance, data architecture, quality management, integration, and general business operations. Mr. Bennett earned his bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications Management from Michigan State University.
Michael Watson has served as our Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Revenue Officer since October 2021. From 2013 to October 2021, Mr. Watson was the Executive Vice President Business Development and Chief Innovative Officer at Phoenix Innovate, a marketing company specializing in end-to-end marketing services from research to tactical execution, where he worked as a member of the senior leadership team to identify and execute operational improvements and culture development. In his positions, he also identified and pursued acquisition targets and monitored and analyzed sales and marketing activity against goals including impact on overall corporate profitability. From 1992 to 2011, Mr. Watson was the Senior Vice President of BUDCO, a marketing consulting company specializing in strategic execution. His primary job responsibilities at BUDCO involved providing leadership and direction, including budgeting and profitability, to three sales directors focusing on automotive, healthcare, food and beverage and consumer markets. While at BUDCO he grew the company’s national account team by 490% over 5 years by implementing a healthcare diversification strategy which resulted in the company’s revenue moving from 80% automotive to 40% automotive. Mr. Watson was also responsible for inventing, developing, and marketing a health insurance dependent audit product which was responsible for over $18 million in revenue during the first 24 months of implementation and quadrupled the size of the company’s call center division. Mr. Watson is also a professor/instructor at Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan where he teaches MGT 3000 to upper classmen in the School of Business.
Term of Office
Our directors hold office until the next annual meeting or until their successors have been elected and qualified, or until they resign or are removed. Our Board of Directors appoints our officers, and our officers hold office until their successors are chosen and qualify, or until their resignation or their removal.
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Family Relationships
There are no family relationships among our directors or officers.
Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings
Our directors and executive officers have not been involved in any of the following events during the past ten years:
Board Diversity
Our five directors come from diverse backgrounds. We comply with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(f), which requires Nasdaq-listed smaller reporting companies to have at least two diverse directors.
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The table below provides certain highlights of the composition of our Board members and nominees as of March 14, 2023. Each of the categories listed in the table below has the meaning as it is used in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(f).
Board Diversity Matrix
Total Number of Directors 5
Female Male Non-Binary Did Not Disclose Gender
Gender Identity
Directors 2 3 — —
Demographic Background
African American or Black — — — —
Alaskan Native or Native American — — — —
Asian — — — —
Hispanic or Latinx — — — —
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander — — — —
White 2 3 — —
Two or More Races or Ethnicities — — — —
LGBTQ+ —
Did Not Disclose Demographic Background 5*
* Did not disclose with respect to LGBTQ+ background.
Board Meetings
Our Board of Directors held two meetings during the year ended December 31, 2022, which occurred on June 29, 2022, and December 15, 2022, and all directors attended at 100% of the aggregate number of meetings of the Board and of the committees on which each of the directors served. The Board also acted by unanimous written consent seven times during the year ended December 31, 2022.
Committees
As of April 22, 2022, our Board of Directors has a designated compensation committee, consisting of Steven Beabout and Ford Fay. Our Board of Directors has a designated audit committee, consisting of Sandy Shoemaker, Steve Beabout and Ford Fay. Our Board of Directors has a nominating and corporate governance committee, consisting of Ford Fay and Steve Beabout. We also have written nominating and corporate governance, compensation, and audit committee charters.
Audit Committee Financial Expert
The Nasdaq Capital Market rules require us to have three independent audit committee members upon the listing of our Common Stock, with at least one member being an “audit committee financial expert”. Our Board of Directors has affirmatively determined that Sandy Shoemaker meets the definition of “independent director” and an “audit committee expert”, and Steve Beabout and Ford Fay qualify as “independent directors” for purposes of serving on an audit committee under Rule 10A-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and Nasdaq Capital Market rules.
Compensation Committee
The Nasdaq Capital Market rules require us to have two independent compensation committee members upon the listing of our Common Stock. Our board of directors has affirmatively determined that Steve Beabout and Ford Fay meets the definition of “independent director” for purposes of serving on a compensation committee under Rule 10A-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and Nasdaq Capital Market rules.
Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee
The Nasdaq Capital Market rules require us to have two independent nomination committee members upon the listing of our Common Stock. Our board of directors has affirmatively determined that Ford Fay and Steve Beabout meets the definition of “independent director” for purposes of serving on a nomination committee under Rule 10A-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and Nasdaq Capital Market rules.
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Code of Ethics
On April 22, 2022, our Board of Directors adopted a code of business conduct and ethics applicable to our employees, directors and officers, in accordance with applicable U.S. federal securities laws and the corporate governance rules of Nasdaq. The code of business conduct and ethics will be publicly available on our website. Any substantive amendments or waivers of the code of business conduct and ethics or code of ethics for senior financial officers may be made only by our board of directors and will be promptly disclosed as required by applicable U.S. federal securities laws and the corporate governance rules of Nasdaq. Additionally, we adopted a policy on insider trading which will be publicly available on our website.
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership
Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires the Company’s directors and executive officers and persons who own more than ten percent of a registered class of the Company’s equity securities to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of common stock and other equity securities of the Company. Officers, directors and greater than ten percent shareholders are required by SEC regulations to furnish the Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file.
During the most recent fiscal year, to the Company’s knowledge, the following delinquencies occurred:
David Gandini 0 0 1
Jerry Wenzel 2 5 0
Steven Beabout 0 2 0
Noreen Butler 0 0 1
Sandy Shoemaker 1 2 1
Michael Watson 1 1 1
Scott Bennett 0 0 2
ITEM 11 - EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.
The particulars of compensation paid to the following persons:
who we will collectively refer to as the named executive officers, for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, are set out in the following summary compensation table:
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Executive Officers and Directors
The following tables set forth certain information about compensation paid, earned or accrued for services by (i) the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and (ii) all other executive officers who earned in excess of $100,000 in the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020 (“Named Executive Officers”):
SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE
(1) Includes amounts paid and/or accrued.
(8) Mr. Wenzel was hired as our Chief Financial Officer in January 2022.
(15) Dean Watson was terminated effective August 20, 2021.
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Employment Contracts
David Gandini. On January 30, 2023, we entered into an Employment Agreement with Mr. Gandini to continue to serve as our Chief Executive Officer through December 31, 2025 (the “Term”). The Term will automatically renew for additional terms of one year unless written notice not to renew is otherwise given by either Mr. Gandini or the Company.
Under the terms of the Employment Agreement, Mr. Gandini will receive an annual base salary of $300,000. For each subsequent calendar year of the Term and Renewal Terms, Mr. Gandini will receive salary adjustments as recommended by the Compensation Committee and approved by the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”). Mr. Gandini is also entitled to participate in the Company’s Annual Bonus Plan and any and all other incentive payments available to executives of the Company. Mr. Gandini may also be provided with regular equity grants commensurate with his role and as awarded by the Board pursuant to the Company’s 2019 Equity Incentive Plan.
Jerry Wenzel. In connection with hiring Mr. Wenzel, we entered into an Executive Employment Agreement with Mr. Wenzel. Under the terms of his Employment Agreement, Mr. Wenzel will serve as our Chief Financial Officer until January 1, 2024, unless he is terminated pursuant to the termination provisions set forth in his agreement. Under the terms of his Employment Agreement, Mr. Wenzel will perform services for us that are customary and usual for a chief financial officer of a company, in exchange for: (i) an annual base salary of $225,000 effective January 2023, (ii) incentive stock options under our 2019 Equity Incentive Plan to acquire 66,667 shares of our common stock, at an exercise price of $8.25, which is equal to 110% of the fair market value of our common stock on January 10, 2022 (the date the options were eligible to be issued under Mr. Wenzel’s Employment Agreement), and repriced effective November 4, 2022, to an exercise price of $2.39 per share with the stock options to vest in eight equal quarterly installments of 8,334 shares during the two-year term of the Employment Agreement, with a ten year term, and (iii) 16,667 Restricted Stock Units under our 2019 Equity Incentive Plan, and vested in November 2022. On November 4, 2022, Mr. Wenzel was granted 75,000 Restricted Stock Units under our 2019 Equity Incentive Plan, that vest on June 1, 2023.
Scott Bennett. On August 17, 2021, we entered into an Executive Employment Agreement with Scott Bennett (the “Bennett Agreement”) to serve as our Executive Vice President of Business Operations beginning on October 18, 2021. Under the terms of the Bennett Agreement, Mr. Bennett performs services for us that are customary and usual for a EVP of business operations of a company, in exchange for: (i) a base salary of $175,000, (ii) incentive stock options under our 2019 Equity Incentive Plan to acquire up to 33,334 shares of our common stock at $9.21 per share (110% of fair market value on the date of grant), and repriced effective November 4, 2022, to an exercise price of $2.39 per share which options vest in equal quarterly installments overs a two year period, and (iii) 16,667 Restricted Stock Units under our 2019 Equity Incentive Stock Plan, which vested in November 2022. On November 4, 2022, Mr. Bennett was granted 50,000 Restricted Stock Units under our 2019 Equity Incentive Plan, that vest on June 1, 2023. The Bennett Agreement is for a two-year term.
Prior to hiring Mr. Bennett has an executive officer, Mr. Bennett was granted (i) 3,334 Restricted Stock Units pursuant to a prior consulting arrangement with us, and (ii) a stock option to acquire 33,334 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $10.14 per share under a prior employment agreement with us and repriced effective November 4, 2022, to an exercise price of $2.39 per share. The restricted stock units were issued under our 2019 Equity Plan and vested in November 2023. The stock options were also issued under our 2019 Equity Incentive Plan and vest in equal installments, monthly over a thirty-six (36) month period beginning May 17, 2021.
Michael Watson. On October 18, 2021, we entered into an Executive Employment Agreement with Michael Watson (the “Watson Agreement”) to serve as our Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Revenue Officer. Under the terms of the Watson Agreement, Mr. Watson performs services for us that are customary and usual for a EVP of sales and marketing of a company, in exchange for: (i) a base salary of $200,000 effective January 2024 and is eligible to participate in any executive bonus plans, and (ii)incentive stock options under our 2019 Equity Incentive Plan to acquire up to 83,334 shares of our common stock at $9.21 per share (110% of fair market value on the date of grant), and repriced effective November 4, 2022, to an exercise price of $2.39 per share which options vest in equal quarterly installments overs a two year period. On November 4, 2022, Mr. Watson was granted 75,000 Restricted Stock Units under our 2019 Equity Incentive Plan, that vest on June 1, 2023. The Watson Agreement is for a two-year term.
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Director Compensation
The following table sets forth director compensation for 2022:
David Gandini -0- -0- -0- -0- -0- -0- -0-
Kevin Moore(1) -0- -0- -0- -0- -0- -0- -0-
Ford Fay -0- -0- -0- -0- -0- -0- -0-
James Bardy(3) -0- -0- -0- -0- -0- -0- -0-
(1) Mr. Moore resigned from our Board of Directors in September 2022.
(3) Mr. Bardy resigned from our Board of Directors in September 2022.
(4) Ms. Butler joined our Board of Directors in October 2022.
We have no formal plan for compensating our directors for their service in their capacity as directors, although such directors may receive restricted stock units or stock options to purchase common shares as awarded by our Board of Directors or (as to future stock options) or the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors. Directors are entitled to reimbursement for reasonable travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attendance at meetings of our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors may award special remuneration to any director undertaking any special services on our behalf other than services ordinarily required of a director.
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Outstanding Equity Awards
The following table sets forth certain information concerning outstanding stock awards held by the Named Executive Officers on December 31, 2022:
Option Awards Stock Awards
Aggregated Option Exercises
No options were exercised during the year ended December 31, 2022 by our named executive officers.
Long-Term Incentive Plan
Currently, our Company does not have a formal long-term incentive plan in favor of any director, officer, consultant or employee of our Company.
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ITEM 12 - SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.
The following table sets forth, as of March 14, 2023, certain information with respect to our equity securities owned of record or beneficially by (i) each Officer and Director of the Company; (ii) each person who owns beneficially more than 5% of each class of the Company’s outstanding equity securities; and (iii) all Directors and Executive Officers as a group.
Common Stock David Gandini (3) CEO, Secretary and Director 799,598 (4) 4.5 %
Common Stock JerryWenzel(3) CFO 101,962 (5) < 1 %
Common Stock Scott Bennett(3) EVP Sales & Marketing 96,649 (6) < 1 %
Common Stock Michael Watson(3) EVP/Revenue Officer 105,019 (7) < 1 %
Common Stock Ford Fay (3) Director 38,224 (8) < 1 %
Common Stock Steven Beabout (3) Director 582,806 (9) 3.4 %
Common Stock Noreen Butler (3) Director 6,250 (10) < 1 %
Common Stock Sandy Shoemaker (3) Director 54,045 (11) < 1 %
All Officers and Directors as a Group (8 persons) 1,784,553 (15) 9.7 %
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(3) Indicates one of our officers or directors.
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We are not aware of any person who owns of record, or is known to own beneficially, five percent or more of the outstanding securities of any class of the issuer, other than as set forth above. We are not aware of any person who controls the issuer as specified in Section 2(a)(1) of the 1940 Act. There are no classes of stock other than common and convertible preferred stock issued or outstanding. We do not have an investment advisor.
There are no current arrangements which will result in a change in control.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
On October 24, 2019, our 2019 Equity Incentive Plan went effective. The plan was approved by our Board of Directors and the holders of a majority of our voting stock on September 9, 2019. The plan’s number of authorized shares was originally 1,282,823. On January 7, 2022, the holders of a majority of our voting stock approved an amendment to the Plan that increased the number of shares authorized under the Plan to 1,733,333.
The following table sets forth information as of December 31, 2022, with respect to compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance, aggregated as follows:
(a) (b) (c)
Equity compensation plan approved by security holders 1,466,814 $ 1.69 2,125
Equity compensation plan not approved by security holders - - -
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ITEM 13 - CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
We have not entered or been a participant in any transaction in which a related person had or will have a direct or indirect material interest in an amount that exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of the Company’s total assets for the last three completed fiscal years.
We do have a written policy concerning the review, approval, or ratification of transactions with related persons.
Currently, four of our directors are considered independent, namely Steven Beabout, Ford Fay, Noreen Butler, and Sandy Shoemaker. NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605(a)(2) provides that an “independent director” is a person other than an officer or employee of the company or any other individual having a relationship that, in the opinion of the Company’s Board of Directors, would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. The NASDAQ listing rules provide that a director cannot be considered independent if:
Corporate Governance
As of December 31, 2022, our Board of Directors consisted of David Gandini, Noreen Butler, Ford Fay, Steven Beabout, and Sandy Shoemaker. As of December 31, 2022, four of our directors qualified as an “independent director” as the term is used in NASDAQ rule 5605(a)(2), namely Noreen Butler, Ford Fay, Steven Beabout, and Sandy Shoemaker. Our Board of Directors has a designated compensation committee, consisting of Steven Beabout and Ford Fay. Our Board of Directors has a designated audit committee, consisting of Sandy Shoemaker, Steve Beabout and Ford Fay. Our Board of Directors has a designated nominating and corporate governance committee consisting of Ford Fay and Steve Beabout.
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ITEM 14 - PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES.
Audit Fees
The aggregate fees billed for the two most recently completed fiscal periods ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 for professional services rendered by Macias, Gini, & O’Connell, LLP (MGO), independent registered public accounting firm, for the audits for the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, quarterly reviews of our interim consolidated financial statements in 2022 and 2021, and services normally provided by the independent accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for these fiscal periods were as follows:
Year EndedDecember 31, Year EndedDecember 31,
Audit Related Fees (2) 90,150 -
All Other Fees (4) - -
Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
All audit and non-audit services are pre-approved by the Audit Committee and were pre-approved by the full Board prior to the formation of the Audit Committee in April 2022, which considers, among other things, the possible effect of the performance of such services on the registered public accounting firm’s independence. The Audit Committee pre-approves the annual engagement of the principal independent registered public accounting firm, including the performance of the annual audit and quarterly reviews for the subsequent fiscal year, and pre-approves specific engagements for tax services performed by such firm. The Audit Committee has also established pre-approval policies and procedures for certain enumerated audit and audit-related services performed pursuant to the annual engagement agreement, including such firm’s attendance at and participation at Audit Committee and Board meetings; services of such firm associated with SEC registration statements, periodic reports and other documents filed with the SEC or other documents issued in connection with securities offerings, such as comfort letters and consents; such firm’s assistance in responding to any SEC comment letters; and consultations with such firm as to the accounting or disclosure treatment of transactions or events and/or the actual or potential impact of final or proposed rules, standards or interpretations by the SEC, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”), Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), or other regulatory or standard-setting bodies. The Audit Committee is informed of each service performed pursuant to its pre-approval policies and procedures.
Auditor Independence
The Audit Committee has considered the role of MGO in providing services to us for the year ended December 31, 2022, and has concluded that such services are acceptable with such firm’s independence.
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
There have been no changes in or disagreements with accountants on accounting and financial disclosure.
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PART IV
ITEM 15 ‐ EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a)(1) Financial Statements
For a list of financial statements and supplementary data filed as part of this Annual Report, see the Index to Financial Statements beginning at page F-1 of this Annual Report.
(a)(2) Financial Statement Schedules
We do not have any financial statement schedules required to be supplied under this Item.
(a)(3) Exhibits
Refer to (b) below.
(b) Exhibits
Item No. Description
3.1 (1) Articles of Incorporation of Imagine Media, Ltd.
3.2 (2) Articles of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation to TransBiotec, Inc.
3.4 (6) Amended and Restated Bylaws of SOBR Safe, Inc.
10.3 (5) Share Exchange Agreement with Michael Lanphere dated August 23, 2019
10.4 (5) Share Exchange Agreement with Vernon Justus dated August 23, 2019
10.7 (6) TransBiotec, Inc. 2019 Equity Incentive Plan
10.8 (6) Employment Agreement with Kevin Moore dated October 25, 2019
10.9 (8) Amended Employment Agreement with Kevin Moore dated November 26, 2019
10.10 (6) Employment Agreement with David Gandini dated October 25, 2019
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10.16 (11) Advisory Agreement with Steven Beabout dated October 9, 2020
10.22 (13) “Form of” Warrant issued by SOBR Safe, Inc. in Regulation D Offering
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21.1* List of Subsidiaries
32.1* Section 1350 Certification of Chief Executive Officer (filed herewith).
32.2* Section 1350 Certification of Chief Accounting Officer (filed herewith).
101.SCH ** Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL ** Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF ** Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB ** Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE ** Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)
*Filed herewith.
**XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) information is furnished and not filed or a part of a registration statement or prospectus for purposes of Sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, is deemed not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and otherwise is not subject to liability under these sections.
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(c) Financial Statement Schedules
Schedules not listed above have been omitted because the information required to be set forth therein is not applicable or is shown in the financial statements or the notes thereto.
ITEM 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY
None.
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SIGNATURES
In accordance with Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, the registrant caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
SOBR Safe, Inc.
Dated: March 31, 2023 By: /s/ David Gandini
David Gandini
Its: Chief Executive Officer,Principal Executive Officer, and Secretary
Dated: March 31, 2023 By: /s/ Jerry Wenzel
Jerry Wenzel
Its: Chief Financial Officer,Principal Financial Officer
In accordance with the Exchange Act, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Dated: March 31, 2023 By: /s/ Jerry Wenzel
Jerry Wenzel, Chief Financial Officer,Principal Financial Officer
Dated: March 31, 2023 By: /s/ David Gandini
David Gandini, Chief Executive Officer,Principal Executive Officer, and Director
Dated: March 31, 2023 By: /s/ Ford Fay
Ford Fay, Director
Chairperson of Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee
Dated: March 31, 2023 By: /s/ Steven Beabout
Steven Beabout, Director
Chairperson of CompensationCommittee
Dated: March 31, 2023 By: /s/ Noreen Butler
Noreen Butler, Director
Dated: March 31, 2023 By: /s/ Sandy Shoemaker
Sandy Shoemaker, Director,Chairperson of Audit Committee
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ITEM 8 - FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
INDEX
Financial Statements: Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB Number 324) F-2
Consolidated Balance Sheets F-4
Consolidated Statements of Operations F-5
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) F-6
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows F-7
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements F-8
Supplementary Data:
Not applicable
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
(PCAOB Number 324)
To the Board of Directors and Shareholdersof SOBR Safe, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of SOBR Safe, Inc. and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity (deficit) and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the entity’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
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Critical Audit Matters
Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. We determined that there are no critical audit matters.
We have served as SOBR Safe, Inc.’s auditor since 2018.
/s/ Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP
Irvine, CA
March 31, 2023
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SOBR SAFE, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
December 31, December 31,
ASSETS
Current assets
Accounts receivable 30,322 -
LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
Current liabilities
Convertible debenture payable
Current portion notes payable - related parties
Current portion notes payable - non-related parties
Notes payable -related parties-less current portion
Notes payable -non-related parties-less current portion
Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
Total SOBR Safe, Inc. stockholders’ equity (deficit) 9,144,006 (429,957 )
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) $ 11,912,037 $ 4,209,215
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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SOBR SAFE, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For The Year Ended
December 31, December 31,
Cost of goods sold 19,315 -
Operating expenses:
Other income (expense):
Gain on debt extinguishment, net 245,105 -
Gain (loss) on fair value adjustment - derivatives 1,040,000 (60,000 )
Amortization of interest – debt discount (921,488 ) (835,081 )
Provision for income taxes - -
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest 17 106
Basic and diluted loss per common share $ (1.90 ) $ (0.91 )
Weighted average number of
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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SOBR SAFE, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
Common Stock Preferred Stock Treasury Stock
Amount Amount Additional SOBR Stockholders'
($0.00001 ($0.00001 Amount Paid-in Accumulated Safe, Noncontrolling Equity
Shares Par) Shares Par) Shares (at cost) Capital Deficit Inc. Interest (Deficit)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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SOBR SAFE, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For The Year Ended
December 31,
Operating Activities:
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Amortization of interest - conversion features 921,488 835,081
Gain on debt extinguishment, net (245,105 ) -
Change in fair value of derivative liability (1,040,000 ) 60,000
Stock issued for professional services 864,500 -
Stock warrants expense 950,316 -
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable (30,322 ) -
Financing Activities:
Proceeds from public equity offering 10,004,245 -
Cost of public equity offering (1,309,882 ) -
Proceeds from private equity offering 5,997,873 -
Cost of private equity offering (875,900 ) -
Proceeds from exercise of stock warrants, net 3,328,143 88,470
Proceeds from notes payable - related parties - 1,030,000
Repayments of notes payable - related parties - (30,000 )
Proceeds from notes payable - non-related parties - 1,005,000
Repayments of notes payable – non-related parties (242,797 ) -
Proceeds from convertible debenture payable - 2,500,000
Repayments of convertible debenture payable (3,048,781 ) -
Debt issuance costs - (275,000 )
Proceeds from exercise of stock options - 19,258
Schedule Of Non-Cash Investing And Financing Activities:
Financing of prepaid insurance expenses $ 274,589 $ -
Non-related party debt converted to common shares $ 47,500 $ -
Exchange of common shares from exercise of stock options $ 38,015 $ -
Reclassification of common shares from reverse stock $ 155 $ -
Issuance of common stock for rent $ - $ 49,600
Issuance of common stock for prior year accrued dividends $ - $ 107,880
Intrinsic value-beneficial conversion feature $ - $ 909,214
Relative fair value of stock warrants granted $ - $ 1,939,756
Convertible debenture payable discount $ - $ 823,781
Fair value of embedded conversion feature $ - $ 980,000
Supplemental Disclosure:
Cash paid for income taxes $ - $ -
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
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SOBR SAFE, Inc.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
December 31, 2022
NOTE 1. ORGANIZATION, OPERATIONS, AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
SOBR Safe, Inc., a Delaware corporation, (the “Company”, “we”, “us”, and “our”) is a hardware and software company headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Our company integrates proprietary software with our patented touch-based alcohol detection products, SOBRcheckTM and SOBRsureTM, enabling non-invasive alcohol detection, biometric identity verification, and real-time cloud-based alerts and reporting. Currently our principal markets are located in North America.
On April 28, 2022, we effected a 1-for-3 reverse stock split with our planned listing on Nasdaq. All share and per share amounts have been adjusted in these consolidated financial statements to reflect the effect of the reverse stock split.
On May 16, 2022, our common stock began trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol “SOBR.” Prior to this, our common stock was quoted on the “OTCQB” tier of the OTC Markets, also under the ticker symbol “SOBR.”
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying audited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) as promulgated in the United States of America and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for the presentation of annual financial information.
In management’s opinion, the audited consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (including reclassifications and normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the financial position at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, and results of operations and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
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Principles of Consolidation
The accompanying audited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority owned subsidiary, TransBiotec-CA, of 98.62%. We have eliminated all intercompany transactions and balances between entities consolidated in these audited financial statements.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of audited consolidated financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Specifically, such estimates were made by the Company for the recoverability and useful lives of long-lived assets, the intellectual technology, the valuation of the derivative liabilities, beneficial conversion feature expenses, stock-based compensation and the valuation allowance related to deferred tax assets. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Financial Instruments
The Company is required to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. The fair value hierarchy is based on the level of independent, objective evidence surrounding the inputs used to measure fair value. A financial instrument’s categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The Company prioritizes the inputs into three levels that may be used to measure fair value:
Level 1
Level 1 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2
Level 2 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets: quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets with insufficient volume or infrequent transactions (less active markets); or model-derived valuations in which significant inputs are observable or can be derived principally from, or corroborated by, observable market data.
Level 3
Level 3 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are unobservable inputs to the valuation methodology that are significant to the measurement of the fair value of the assets or liabilities.
The Company’s financial instruments consist primarily of cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, accrued interest payable, related party payables, notes payable, convertible debentures, and other liabilities. The fair value of our derivative liabilities is determined based on “Level 3” inputs. We believe that the recorded values of all of our other financial instruments approximate their current fair values because of their nature and respective maturity dates or durations.
The following table presents assets and liabilities that are measured and recognized on a recurring basis at fair value as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021:
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Derivative liabilities $ - $ - $ -
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Derivative liabilities $ - $ - $ 1,040,000
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Cash
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less as cash equivalents. The Company does not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable is derived from sales to a limited number of customers during the year ended December 31, 2022. Customer accounts are monitored for potential credit losses based upon management’s assessment of expected collectability and the allowance for doubtful accounts is reviewed periodically to assess the adequacy of the allowance. In making this assessment, management takes into consideration any circumstances of which the Company is aware regarding a customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations to the Company, and any potential prevailing economic conditions and their impact on the Company’s customers. The Company had no allowance for doubtful accounts at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
Inventory
Inventory is valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value. The cost of substantially all the Company’s inventory is determined by the FIFO cost method. Inventory is comprised primarily of component parts and finished products. The Company evaluates the need for reserves for excess or obsolete inventory determined primarily based upon estimates of future demand for the Company’s products. The Company had no reserves for obsolescence at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
Prepaid Expenses
Amounts incurred in advance of contractual performance or coverage periods are recorded as prepaid assets and recognized as expense in the period service or coverage is provided.
Beneficial Conversion Features
From time to time, the Company may issue convertible notes that may contain a beneficial conversion feature. A beneficial conversion feature exists on the date a convertible note is issued when the fair value of the underlying common stock to which the note is convertible into is in excess of the remaining unallocated proceeds of the note after first considering the allocation of a portion of the note proceeds to the fair value of the warrants, if related warrants have been granted. The intrinsic value of the beneficial conversion feature is recorded as a debt discount with a corresponding amount to additional paid-in capital. The debt discount is amortized to interest expense over the life of the note using the effective interest method.
Derivative Instruments
The Company evaluates all of its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instruments are initially recorded at their fair values and are then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the consolidated statements of operations under other income (expense). The accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments requires that the Company record the embedded conversion option at its fair value as of the inception date of the agreement and at fair value as of each subsequent balance sheet date. Any change in fair value is recorded as non-operating, non-cash income or expense for each reporting period at each balance sheet date. If the classification changes as a result of events during the period, the contract is reclassified as of the date of the event that caused the reclassification. As a result of entering into warrant agreements, for which such instruments contained a variable conversion feature with no floor, the Company has adopted a sequencing policy whereby all future instruments may be classified as a derivative liability with the exception of instruments related to share-based compensation issued to employees or directors. For stock-based derivative financial instruments, the Company uses a Monte Carlo Simulation model to value the derivative instruments at inception and on subsequent valuation dates.
The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative instrument liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement of the derivative instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date.
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Debt Issuance Costs
Debt issuance costs incurred in connection with the issuance of debt are capitalized and amortized to interest expense over the term of the debt using the effective interest method. The unamortized amount is presented as a reduction of debt on the balance sheet.
Preferred Stock
Preferred shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. We classify conditionally redeemable preferred shares (if any), which includes preferred shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control, as temporary equity. At all other times, we classified our preferred shares in stockholders’ equity.
Minority Interest (Noncontrolling Interest)
A subsidiary of the Company has minority members representing ownership interests of 1.38% at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021. The Company accounts for these minority, or noncontrolling interests whereby gains and losses in a subsidiary with a noncontrolling interest are allocated to the noncontrolling interest based on the ownership percentage of the noncontrolling interest, even if that allocation results in a deficit noncontrolling interest balance.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets and identifiable intangibles held for use are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. If the sum of undiscounted expected future cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset or if changes in facts and circumstances indicate, an impairment loss is recognized and measured using the asset’s fair value. No impairment loss was recognized during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Revenue Recognition
The Company enters contracts with customers and generates revenue through various combinations of software products and services which include the sale of cloud-based software solutions, detection and data collection hardware devices, and cloud-based data reporting and analysis services. Depending on the combination of products and services detailed in the respective customer contract, the identifiable components may be highly interdependent and interrelated with each other such that each is required to provide the substance of the value of the Company’s offering and accounted for as a combined performance obligation, or the specific components may be generally distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. Revenue is recognized when control of these software products and/or services are transferred to the customer in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for these respective services and devices.
The Company determines revenue recognition through five steps which include (1) the identification of the contract or contracts with a customer, (2) identification of individual or combined performance obligations contained in the contract, (3) determination of the transaction price detailed within the contract, (4) allocation of the transaction price to the specific performance obligations, and (5) finally, recognition of revenue as the Company’s performance obligations are satisfied according to the terms of the contract.
Contracts with a Single License/Service Performance Obligation
For contracts with a single performance obligation consisting of a license and/or data services, the entire transaction price is allocated to the single performance obligation. Where the Company provides a performance obligation as licensed software or data services, revenue is recognized upon delivery of the software or services ratably over the respective term of the contract.
Contracts for Purchase of Hardware Devices Only
Where hardware devices are sold separately by the Company, the entire transaction price is allocated to the device as an individual performance obligation and revenue is recognized at a point in time when either legal title, physical possession or the risks and rewards of ownership have transferred to the customer. Generally, these requirements are satisfied at the point in time the Company ships the product, as this is when the customer obtains control of the asset under SOBR’s standard terms and conditions of the purchase.
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Contracts with Multiple Performance Obligations
Where a Company’s contract with a respective customer contains multiple performance obligations and due to the interdependent and interrelated nature of the licensed software, hardware devices and data reporting services, the Company accounts for the individual performance obligations if they are distinct in nature and the transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligations on a directly observable standalone sales price basis. Determining whether products and services are distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately or combined as one unit of accounting may require significant judgment. Standalone selling prices are primarily based upon the price at which the performance obligation is sold separately. The Company may be able to establish a standalone sales price based upon observable products or services sold or priced separately in comparable circumstances, competitor pricing or similar customers. Where the performance obligations are either not distinct or directly observable, the Company estimates the standalone sales price of the performance obligations based upon the overall pricing objectives taking into consideration the value of the contract arrangement, number of licenses, number and types of hardware devices and the length of term of the contract. Professional judgement may be required to determine the standalone sales price for each performance obligation where not directly observable. Revenue for Contracts with Multiple Performance Obligations is recognized on a ratable basis for each respective performance obligation as allocated under the prescribed Transaction Price identification model applied.
The Company requires customers to make payments related to subscribed software licenses and data services on a monthly basis via authorized bank account ACH withdrawal or an automatic credit card charge during the approved term of the respective agreement. The collectability of future cash flows are reasonably assured with any potential non-payment easily identified with future services being discontinued or suspended due to non-payment.
The Company’s contracts are generally twelve to thirty-six months in duration, are billed monthly in advance and are non-cancelable. The timing of revenue recognition may differ from the timing of invoicing to customers. The Company generally has an unconditional right to consideration when customers are invoiced and a receivable is recorded. A contract asset (unbilled revenue) is recognized when revenue is recognized prior to invoicing, or a contract liability (deferred revenue) when revenue will be recognized subsequent to invoicing.
The Company has elected to charge shipping, freight and delivery to customers as a source of revenue to offset respective costs when control has transferred to the customer.
We report revenue net of sales and other taxes collected from customers to be remitted to government authorities.
Estimated costs for the Company’s standard one-year warranty are charged to cost of products sold when revenue is recorded for the related product. Royalties are also charged to cost of products sold.
Stock-based Compensation
The Company uses the fair-value based method to determine compensation for all arrangements under which employees and others receive shares of stock or equity instruments (warrants, options, and restricted stock units). The fair value of each warrant and option is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes options pricing model that uses assumptions for expected volatility, expected dividends, expected term, and the risk-free interest rate. The Company has not paid dividends historically and does not expect to pay them in the future. Expected volatilities are based on weighted averages of the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock estimated over the expected term of the awards. The expected term of options granted is derived using the “simplified method” which computes expected term as the average of the sum of the vesting term plus the contract term as historically the Company had limited activity surrounding its awards. The risk-free rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for the period of the expected term. The grant date fair value of a restricted stock unit equals the closing price of our common stock on the trading day of the grant date.
Research and Development
Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. The Company incurred research and development costs as it acquired new knowledge to bring about significant improvements in the functionality and design of its SOBR products.
Advertising and Marketing Costs
Advertising and marketing costs are charged to operations as incurred. Advertising and marketing costs were $169,010 and $104,738 during the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively.
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Income Tax
Deferred taxes are provided on an asset and liability method whereby deferred tax assets are recognized for deductible temporary differences and operating loss carry forwards and deferred tax liabilities are recognized for taxable temporary differences. Temporary differences are the differences between the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax bases. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted for the effects of changes in tax laws and rates on the date of enactment. The Company has a deferred tax asset of approximately $7,283,000 and $4,129,000 that is offset by a 100% valuation allowance at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively. Therefore, the Company has not recorded any deferred tax assets or liabilities at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
Net Loss Per Share
Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share gives the effect to all dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the period, including stock options, warrants and convertible instruments. Diluted net loss per share excludes all potentially issuable shares if their effect is anti-dilutive. Because the effect of the Company’s dilutive securities is anti-dilutive, diluted net loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the periods presented.
Concentration of Risk
Credit Risk – Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consisted primarily of cash. The Company maintains its cash at two domestic financial institutions. The Company is exposed to credit risk in the event of a default by the financial institutions to the extent that cash balances are in excess of the amount insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation of up to $250,000 per institution. The Company places its cash with high-credit quality financial institutions and are managed within established guidelines to mitigate risk. To date, the Company has not experienced any loss on its cash.
Concentration of Customers – The Company has conducted limited sales during the year ended December 31, 2022 to six customers. Should the Company continue to conduct sales to a limited number of customers and remain highly concentrated, revenue may experience significant period to period shifts and may decline if the Company were to lose one or more of its customers, or if the Company were unable to obtain new customers upon the completion of sales agreements.
Concentration of Suppliers – The Company relies on a limited number of component and contract suppliers to assemble its product. If supplier shortages occur, or quality problems arise, production schedules could be significantly delayed or costs significantly increased, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
Impact of COVID-19 – In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) emerged in China. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak as a pandemic. The extent to which the coronavirus impacts our operations will continue to depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration of the outbreak, new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the coronavirus and the actions to contain the coronavirus or treat its impact, among others. In particular, the continued spread of the coronavirus globally and emergence of new strains could adversely impact our operations, including our manufacturing, logistics and supply chain. Our operations could be negatively affected if employees are quarantined as the result of exposure to a contagious illness. Similarly, travel restrictions resulting from the rapid spread of contagious illnesses may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Related Parties
Related parties are any entities or individuals that, through employment, ownership or other means, possess the ability to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of the Company.
Recently Issued Accounting Guidance
The Company has reviewed recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements and does not believe the future adoptions of any such pronouncements will be expected to cause a material impact on its financial condition or the results of operations.
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NOTE 2. GOING CONCERN
The Company has incurred recurring losses from operations. Future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including the Company’s ability to sell and develop products, generate cash flow from operations, and assess competing market developments. The Company may need additional capital in the future.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company has an accumulated deficit of approximately $78,300,000. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company also experienced negative cash flows from operating activities of approximately $6,100,000 and has $2,005,000 of convertible notes payable due in various amounts between March and May 2023. It appears these principal conditions or events, considered in the aggregate, could indicate it is probable that the Company will be unable to meet its obligations as they become due within one year after the date the financial statements are issued. However, the Company has identified factors that mitigate the probable conditions that have raised substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern.
Underwritten Public Offering
On May 18, 2022, we received approximately $8,700,000 of net proceeds from the sale of an Underwritten Public Offering of 2,352,942 units (Units) at a public offering price of $4.25 per Unit, with each Unit consisting of one share of our Common Stock, par value $0.00001, and two warrants (the “Common Warrants”) each to purchase one share of Common Stock.
On May 19, 2022, the principal balance of the Armistice Capital Master Fund, Ltd 18% Original Issue Discount Convertible Debenture in default at March 31, 2022 of $3,048,781, was paid in full satisfying all amounts due and accrued under the default, including penalty, damages and interest provisions of the loan agreement (see Note 8).
On September 28, 2022, as a result of the PIPE Offering, the Common Warrants exercise price was adjusted to $2.125 per share. During the year ended December 31, 2022, 1,647,564 common warrants were exercised from which the Company received approximately $3,328,000 of proceeds net of issuance costs.
Private Investment in Public Equity Offering (“PIPE Offering”)
On September 28, 2022, the Company entered into a PIPE Offering pursuant to a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) and Registration Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) with institutional investors. On September 30, 2022, the Company received approximately $5,120,000 of net proceeds from the PIPE Offering.
Senior Convertible Debt Offering (“Debt Offering”)
On March 9, 2023, the Company received approximately $2,500,000 of net proceeds from a Debt Offering pursuant to a Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) and Registration Rights Agreement with institutional investors. (see Note 16).
The Debt Offering includes 15% Original Issue Discount Convertible Notes (the “Notes”) and Common Stock Purchase Warrants (the “Warrants”). Under the terms of the Agreement, the Company received $3,000,000 from the Purchasers and in exchange issued the Notes in principal amounts of $3,529,412 and Warrants to purchase up to 386,998 shares of the Company’s common stock. The Notes are convertible voluntarily by the Purchaser at any time the principal amounts are outstanding into shares of our common stock at a conversion price of $2.28. The Notes are due March 10, 2025, and accrue interest quarterly at 5% per annum. The accrued interest is payable by way of inclusion in the convertible amount. The Warrants are exercisable at any time through March 9, 2028, into shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $2.52 per share.
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The Company is obligated for convertible notes issued in 2021 plus interest at 12% per annum. Total principal balances of the convertible notes at December 31, 2022 are $2,005,000 and are due $1,100,000, $155,000 and $750,000 in March 2023, April 2023 and May 2023, respectively. As of March 3, 2023, the Company paid $600,000 of the notes that matured as of that date. On March 31, 2023, the Company will pay $500,000 of the notes due on that date. On March 13, 2023, the Company provided a 30-day notice to the note holders with amounts due on April 16, 2023 and May 31, 2023, that it will prepay the principal and all accrued interest due on April 12, 2023. The March 2023 Debt Offering requires that the $2,005,000 of the convertible notes payable due in March, April and May 2023 be paid by April 24, 2023.
Management believes that the net offering proceeds, including warrants exercised, of approximately $19,646,000 from the Underwritten Public Offering and PIPE Offering in 2022 and the Debt Offering in March 2023, after the 2023 payments required for the convertible notes payable and accrued interest of approximately $2,439,000, provide adequate working capital for operating activities for the next twelve months after the date the financial statements are issued. As such, substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern was alleviated.
NOTE 3. INVENTORY
Inventory at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 consisted of the following:
December 31, December 31,
Component parts $ 68,643 $ -
NOTE 4. PREPAID EXPENSES
Prepaid expenses at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 consisted of the following:
December 31, December 31,
On February 26, 2021, the Company entered into a lease agreement for its office facility for a 12-month term beginning March 1, 2021. In addition to monthly base rent of $6,000, the agreement required the issuance of 5,333 shares of its common stock valued at $49,600, which was amortized over the lease term.
On May 25, 2022, the Company purchased Directors & Officers insurance prepaying annual premiums of $349,455 through a nine-month financing arrangement (see Note 9). The Company recorded $221,357 of insurance expense related to the prepaid Directors & Officers insurance during the year ended December 31, 2022.
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During October 2022, the Company entered into a 12-month agreement for investor relations services in exchange for the issuance of 27,500 common shares and 60,000 warrants at $2.56 per share with a fair value on the date of issuance of $39,453, which will be recognized over the period of service.
NOTE 5. INTANGIBLE ASSETS
Intangible assets consisted of the following at December 31, 2022:
Gross Carrying Accumulated Net Intangible Amortization Period
Amount Amortization Asset (in years)
SOBR Safe
Intangible assets consisted of the following at December 31, 2021:
Gross Carrying Accumulated Net Intangible Amortization Period
Amount Amortization Asset (in years)
SOBR Safe
Amortization expense was $385,464 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Estimated future amortization expense for device technology intangible assets is as follows:
NOTE 6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
On February 12, 2021, the Company entered into a note payable agreement with David Gandini, an officer and shareholder, under which Mr. Gandini advanced the Company $30,000 for working capital purposes. The unsecured note carried interest at 0% and was paid in April 2021.
On March 30, 2021, the Company received notification from IDTEC that it was exercising a portion of the 106,667 warrants issued resulting from the Waiver Under Asset Purchase Agreement and Post-Closing Covenant Agreement. The warrant exercise price is $1.50 per share. With the proceeds of the exercise, we paid $88,469 during the year ended December 31, 2021 to settle an outstanding judgement against the Company which was considered as a non-permitted liability under the Post-Closing Covenant Agreement. We issued 58,980 shares of our common stock for the $88,470 we received from IDTEC to pay the settlement.
On March 3 and 31, 2021, the Company issued convertible notes payable (see Note 9) totaling $350,000 to existing shareholders holding a direct or indirect interest in the Company and $200,000 to a Company’s director, an entity owned by a Company’s director and another director’s family member. The principal amount of the secured convertible debentures are convertible at $9 per share, and include warrants to purchase in total 91,667 shares of the Company’s common stock at $9 per share.
On May 31, 2021, the Company issued convertible notes payable (see Note 9) totaling $400,000 to existing shareholders holding a direct or indirect interest in the Company and $50,000 to a Company's officer. The principal amount of the secured convertible debentures are convertible at $9 per share, and include warrants to purchase in total 75,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at $9 per share.
On March 1, 2022 the Board of Directors approved the designation of 3,000,000 shares of the Company’s Preferred Stock as “Series B Convertible Preferred Stock”. The Series B Convertible Preferred Stock shares were issued in exchange for 333,333 shares of the Company’s common stock held by the Company’s CEO David Gandini and 666,667 shares of the Company’s common stock held by IDTEC SPV, LLC, an entity controlled by a beneficial owner of the Company (see Note 12).