SecProbe.io

Filing text and metadata
Intelligence Terminal Search Topics Monthly Activity About

Correspondence 0000950170-24-009399 from STAAR SURGICAL CO (STAA) (CIK 0000718937) (STAA)

STAAR SURGICAL CO (STAA) (CIK 0000718937)
Date: Jan. 31, 2024 · CIK: 0000718937 · Accession: 0000950170-24-009399

AI Filing Summary & Sentiment

File numbers found in text: 000-11634

Referenced dates: December 6, 2023

Date
January 31, 2024
Author
Not clearly detected
Form
CORRESP
Company
STAAR SURGICAL CO (STAA) (CIK 0000718937)

Letter

January 31, 2024

VIA EDGAR TRANSMISSION

United States Securities and Exchange Commission

Division of Corporation Finance

Office of Industrial Applications and Services

100 F Street, N.E.

Washington, D.C. 20549

Attention: Nudrat Salik, Terence O’Brien

RE: STAAR Surgical Company

Form 10-Q for Period Ended September 30, 2023

Form 8-K Filed November 1, 2023

File No. 000-11634

Ladies and Gentlemen:

STAAR Surgical Company (the “Company”) received your comment letter dated December 6, 2023, which sets out comments of the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “SEC” or the “Staff”) to the Company’s filings referenced above. This letter provides the Company’s responses to the Staff’s comments. For your convenience, we have reproduced below in bold the Staff’s comments numbered 1 through 4 and have provided responses immediately below each comment. The headings and numbered paragraphs in this letter correspond to the headings and numbered paragraphs in the comment letter from the Staff.

Form 10-Q for the Period Ended September 30, 2023

Note 1. Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies Revision of Financial Statements for Correction of Immaterial Misstatements, page 7

1.In regard to the error identified with the income tax provision, deferred tax asset and valuation allowance under the incremental cash tax method, please tell us how you determined that the error was not material to results of operations or financial position for any prior annual or interim period by providing us with your materiality analysis pursuant to SAB Topic 1:M and 1:N. We note that the adjustment represented approximately 11% of net income for 2021. Please also help us better understand the nature of the error and how it was corrected.

Response:

As disclosed in Note 1 to the financial statements of the Form 10-Q for the period ended September 29, 2023 (the “Form 10-Q”), during the third quarter ended September 29, 2023, the Company determined that it had not correctly deducted compensation expense in calculating its income tax provision, deferred tax asset and valuation allowance under the Incremental Cash Tax Method. The relevant compensation expense related to certain employee stock options granted on or prior to November 2, 2017 (such awards, the “Option Awards”). As discussed further below, prior to the correction, the Company had applied the deduction limitation established by Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m) (“Section 162(m)”) to the Option Awards. During the third quarter ended September 29, 2023, the Company determined that the Option Awards should not have been subject to the deduction limitation under Section 162(m), as they had been granted prior to the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) (signed into law in December 2017), which allowed for “grandfathering” of these pre-existing awards. As a result, the Company should have elected to deduct compensation expense for the Option Awards and concluded that it had understated its deferred income tax asset, overstated the provision for income taxes, and understated net income, for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and December 30, 2022, which it corrected in the Form 10-Q.

25651 Atlantic Ocean Drive | Lake Forest, CA 92630 | (626) 303-7902

The Company has experienced rapid revenue growth over the last several years, and as of the fiscal year ended December 28, 2018, had advanced from a history of net losses to profitability. As the Company has grown, it has brought in additional resources and enhanced its processes related to taxes. Under this backdrop, in June 2023, the Company conducted an evaluation of its tax provision, which included an assessment of its Section 162(m) deduction limitations (the “Assessment”). Given the increase in the Company’s stock price during the period 2017-2023, the Company had experienced an increase in the number of employee stock options exercised, as well as the dollar value thereof. Whereas in March 2017, the Company’s stock was trading near $10 per share, the stock reached an all-time high of $162.68 per share in September 2021, and was trading around $50 per share in June 2023. As the Company’s stock price increased, the tax gain realized upon exercise of employee stock options increased, which resulted in higher tax deductible stock-based compensation expense for the Company. The stock option exercises during this period included exercises by various employees who were “covered employees” under Section 162(m). As part of the Assessment, the Company identified that certain of the stock options exercised had been granted in 2017, prior to the implementation of the TCJA. The Company then revisited the applicability of the deduction limitation under Section 162(m) and the grandfathering of Section 162(m) deductibility under the TCJA transition rules. Based on the Company’s analysis of the relevant facts and circumstances, and the application of relevant tax law and guidance, the Company concluded that it had incorrectly applied the TCJA transition rules to the Option Awards and that it was more likely than not that the Option Awards qualified as performance-based compensation under Section 162(m), and accordingly, the Option Awards were not subject to the deduction limitation under Section 162(m).

For the three and nine months ended September 29, 2023, the Company’s provision for income tax expense and its deferred tax asset reported in the Form 10-Q reflect the amount of stock-based compensation expense associated with the Option Awards that qualified for deduction under Section162(m). The Company assessed the cumulative impact of the deductibility of the Option Awards and determined that the Company had overstated its provision for income tax expense by $3,920,000 and understated its deferred tax asset by $3,920,000, as of December 30, 2022. The Company then assessed the impact for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and December 30, 2022, which is summarized in Note 1 to the Form 10-Q.

In assessing the materiality of the correction, the Company considered that the correction had no impact on revenue, gross profit or pre-tax income. Because the correction resulted in the Company’s tax deduction of a greater amount of its stock-based compensation expense, the correction led to a decrease in the Company’s provision for income taxes and an increase in income and earnings per share. The tables below reflects the impact of the correction under the Rollover and Iron Curtain methods as prescribed by Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) Topic 1:M and 1:N (dollars in thousands, expect per share amounts):

Reported

As

Rollover Method

Iron Curtain Method

Reported Metric

Year

Amount

Revised

Amount

%

Amount

%

Income Statement:

Provision for income taxes

$

6,803

$

3,793

$

(3,010

)

(44.2

)%

$

6,797

$

5,887

$

(910

)

(13.4

)%

$

(3,920

)

(57.7

)%

Net income

$

24,501

$

27,511

$

3,010

12.3

%

$

38,755

$

39,665

$

2.3

%

$

3,920

10.1

%

Comprehensive income

$

25,998

$

29,008

$

3,010

11.6

%

$

42,959

$

43,869

$

2.1

%

$

3,920

9.1

%

Basic earnings per share

$

0.52

$

0.58

$

0.06

11.5

%

$

0.81

$

0.83

$

0.02

2.5

%

$

0.08

9.9

%

Diluted earnings per share

$

0.50

$

0.56

$

0.06

12.0

%

$

0.78

$

0.80

$

0.02

2.6

%

$

0.08

10.3

%

- 2 -

Reported

As

Rollover Method

Iron Curtain Method

Reported Metric

Year

Amount

Revised

Amount

%

Amount

%

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income

$

24,501

$

27,511

$

3,010

12.3

%

$

38,755

$

39,665

$

2.3

%

$

3,920

10.1

%

Deferred income taxes

$

1,495

$

(1,515

)

$

(3,010

)

(201.3

)%

$

(1,344

)

$

(2,254

)

$

(910

)

67.7

%

$

(3,920

)

291.7

%

Reported

As

Rollover Method

Iron Curtain Method

Reported Metric

Year

Amount

Revised

Amount

%

Amount

%

Balance Sheet:

Deferred income taxes

$

4,824

$

8,744

$

3,920

81.3

%

$

3,920

81.3

%

Total assets

$

414,898

$

418,818

$

3,920

0.9

%

$

3,920

0.9

%

Accumulated deficit

$

(111,390

)

$

(108,380

)

$

3,010

(2.7

)%

$

3,010

(2.7

)%

$

(72,635

)

$

(68,715

)

$

3,920

(5.4

)%

$

3,920

(5.4

)%

Total stockholders’ equity

$

258,558

$

261,568

$

3,010

1.2

%

$

3,010

1.2

%

$

332,192

$

336,112

$

3,920

1.2

%

$

3,920

1.2

%

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$

414,898

$

418,818

$

3,920

0.9

%

$

3,920

0.9

%

The Company recognizes that the impact of the correction for fiscal year 2021 resulted in increases in net income and diluted earnings per share in excess of 10%. However, the correction did not impact the trend in such metrics. As set forth in the table below, prior to and after the correction, the Company’s results still reflected a steep increase in net income and diluted earnings per share from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2021, which exceeded 300% (with and without the correction), and a further increase from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2022, which exceeded 40% (with and without the correction) (dollars in thousands, expect per share amounts):

Net income

As stated

$

5,913

$

24,501

$

38,755

Increase Year Over Year

314.4

%

58.2

%

As revised

$

5,913

$

27,511

$

39,665

Increase Year Over Year

365.3

%

44.2

%

Diluted EPS

As stated

$

0.12

$

0.50

$

0.78

Increase Year Over Year

316.7

%

56.0

%

As revised

$

0.12

$

0.56

$

0.80

Increase Year Over Year

366.7

%

42.9

%

The Company considered the quantitative factors set forth in the tables above, as well as qualitative factors, with a focus on key metrics believed to be of greatest importance to the Company’s investors and shareholders. As a fast-growth company, investors and shareholders have generally focused on the Company’s revenue and revenue growth. As set forth above, the correction had no impact on revenue or gross profit (and the dollar amount of the correction was de-minimis in relation to the dollar amounts of both revenue and gross profit). Together with revenue, the Company’s investors and shareholders are keenly focused on metrics related to the Company’s implantable Collamer lens (“ICL”) (the Company’s key product), including ICL sales (and sales growth), and ICL units (and unit growth). This is supported by the fact that in each of the Company’s annual earnings press releases for fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2022, the top three bullets addressed net sales, ICL sales, and ICL units. The Company’s investors and shareholders have traditionally been less focused on taxes, net income and diluted earnings per share. Because the correction reduced the amount of tax expense, the correction resulted in an increase in net income and diluted earnings per share (i.e., the Company understated net income and diluted earnings per share).

- 3 -

In addition to the quantitative and qualitative considerations discussed above, the Company also noted the following in its qualitative analysis of materiality:

• The correction did not mask a change in earnings or other trends,

• The correction did not hide a failure to meet analysts’ consensus expectations for the enterprise,

• The correction did not change a loss into income or vice versa,

• The correction did not affect the Company’s compliance with regulatory requirements,

• The correction did not affect the Company’s compliance with loan covenants or other contractual requirements,

• The correction did not have the effect of increasing management’s compensation – for example, by satisfying requirements for the award of bonuses or other forms of incentive compensation, and

• The correction did not involve the concealment of an unlawful transaction.

In addition, the Company’s policy election is to apply the Incremental Cash Tax approach when analyzing the impact of Global Intangible Low Tax Income (“GILTI”) on its U.S. valuation allowance (“VA”). While updating the aforementioned prior years’ tax provisions, the Company had to consider the deductibility of the Option Awards in its U.S. VA calculation, which resulted in additional tax benefits from fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year 2022. Historically, the Company recognized net losses for fiscal year 2008 through fiscal year 2017 (other than with respect to fiscal year 2013, when there was minimal net income, which resulted in diluted earnings per share of $0.01) and had been in a full VA position given its history of U.S. tax losses. As set forth above the Company grew its revenue and net income from fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year 2022, and the VA release (due to higher NOLs attributable to the Section 162(m) adjustment) are directionally in line with the Company’s growth. Given the relatively small amount of tax expense recorded in fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year 2022, the impact of the correction had a greater percentage impact. As discussed above, the Company does not believe a key focus of its investors is tax expense, or taxes generally, and it does not believe the correction affected the total mix of information available to investors. This is supported by a review of the transcripts from the Company’s last four quarterly earnings calls, which the Company furnishes to the SEC on Form 8-K. The transcripts reflect that no questions were asked by investors regarding the Company’s tax expense, deferred income taxes or its VA position.

While the Company determined that a correction was appropriate to address the deductibility of the Option Awards under Section 162(m), the Company concluded that the impact of the correction on the Company’s financial statements, after assessing materiality under SAB Topic 1:M and 1:N and considering the quantitative and qualitative factors set forth above, was not material to the Company’s previously issued consolidated financial statements. The Company intends to include disclosure regarding the correction in future periodic reports filed with the SEC, as applicable, consistent with the disclosure included in the Form 10-Q.

Liquidity and Capital Resources, page 23

2.We note that cash flows from operating activities were impacted by working capital changes, including an increase in accounts receivable of $50.

Show Raw Text
CORRESP
1
filename1.htm

  CORRESP

  January 31, 2024

  VIA EDGAR TRANSMISSION

  United States Securities and Exchange Commission

  Division of Corporation Finance

  Office of Industrial Applications and Services

  100 F Street, N.E.

  Washington, D.C. 20549

  Attention:  Nudrat Salik, Terence O’Brien

  RE:	  STAAR Surgical Company

  	  Form 10-Q for Period Ended September 30, 2023

  	  Form 8-K Filed November 1, 2023

  	  File No. 000-11634

  Ladies and Gentlemen:

  STAAR Surgical Company (the “Company”) received your comment letter dated December 6, 2023, which sets out comments of the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “SEC” or the “Staff”) to the Company’s filings referenced above. This letter provides the Company’s responses to the Staff’s comments. For your convenience, we have reproduced below in bold the Staff’s comments numbered 1 through 4 and have provided responses immediately below each comment. The headings and numbered paragraphs in this letter correspond to the headings and numbered paragraphs in the comment letter from the Staff.

  Form 10-Q for the Period Ended September 30, 2023

  Note 1.  Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
Revision of Financial Statements for Correction of Immaterial Misstatements, page 7

  1.In regard to the error identified with the income tax provision, deferred tax asset and valuation allowance under the incremental cash tax method, please tell us how you determined that the error was not material to results of operations or financial position for any prior annual or interim period by providing us with your materiality analysis pursuant to SAB Topic 1:M and 1:N.  We note that the adjustment represented approximately 11% of net income for 2021.  Please also help us better understand the nature of the error and how it was corrected.

  Response:

  As disclosed in Note 1 to the financial statements of the Form 10-Q for the period ended September 29, 2023 (the “Form 10-Q”), during the third quarter ended September 29, 2023, the Company determined that it had not correctly deducted compensation expense in calculating its income tax provision, deferred tax asset and valuation allowance under the Incremental Cash Tax Method. The relevant compensation expense related to certain employee stock options granted on or prior to November 2, 2017 (such awards, the “Option Awards”). As discussed further below, prior to the correction, the Company had applied the deduction limitation established by Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m) (“Section 162(m)”) to the Option Awards. During the third quarter ended September 29, 2023, the Company determined that the Option Awards should not have been subject to the deduction limitation under Section 162(m), as they had been granted prior to the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) (signed into law in December 2017), which allowed for “grandfathering” of these pre-existing awards. As a result, the Company should have elected to deduct compensation expense for the Option Awards and concluded that it had understated its deferred income tax asset, overstated the provision for income taxes, and understated net income, for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and December 30, 2022, which it corrected in the Form 10-Q.

  25651 Atlantic Ocean Drive  |  Lake Forest, CA  92630  |  (626) 303-7902

  The Company has experienced rapid revenue growth over the last several years, and as of the fiscal year ended December 28, 2018, had advanced from a history of net losses to profitability. As the Company has grown, it has brought in additional resources and enhanced its processes related to taxes. Under this backdrop, in June 2023, the Company conducted an evaluation of its tax provision, which included an assessment of its Section 162(m) deduction limitations (the “Assessment”). Given the increase in the Company’s stock price during the period 2017-2023, the Company had experienced an increase in the number of employee stock options exercised, as well as the dollar value thereof. Whereas in March 2017, the Company’s stock was trading near $10 per share, the stock reached an all-time high of $162.68 per share in September 2021, and was trading around $50 per share in June 2023. As the Company’s stock price increased, the tax gain realized upon exercise of employee stock options increased, which resulted in higher tax deductible stock-based compensation expense for the Company. The stock option exercises during this period included exercises by various employees who were “covered employees” under Section 162(m). As part of the Assessment, the Company identified that certain of the stock options exercised had been granted in 2017, prior to the implementation of the TCJA. The Company then revisited the applicability of the deduction limitation under Section 162(m) and the grandfathering of Section 162(m) deductibility under the TCJA transition rules. Based on the Company’s analysis of the relevant facts and circumstances, and the application of relevant tax law and guidance, the Company concluded that it had incorrectly applied the TCJA transition rules to the Option Awards and that it was more likely than not that the Option Awards qualified as performance-based compensation under Section 162(m), and accordingly, the Option Awards were not subject to the deduction limitation under Section 162(m).

  For the three and nine months ended September 29, 2023, the Company’s provision for income tax expense and its deferred tax asset reported in the Form 10-Q reflect the amount of stock-based compensation expense associated with the Option Awards that qualified for deduction under Section162(m). The Company assessed the cumulative impact of the deductibility of the Option Awards and determined that the Company had overstated its provision for income tax expense by $3,920,000 and understated its deferred tax asset by $3,920,000, as of December 30, 2022. The Company then assessed the impact for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and December 30, 2022, which is summarized in Note 1 to the Form 10-Q.

  In assessing the materiality of the correction, the Company considered that the correction had no impact on revenue, gross profit or pre-tax income. Because the correction resulted in the Company’s tax deduction of a greater amount of its stock-based compensation expense, the correction led to a decrease in the Company’s provision for income taxes and an increase in income and earnings per share. The tables below reflects the impact of the correction under the Rollover and Iron Curtain methods as prescribed by Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) Topic 1:M and 1:N (dollars in thousands, expect per share amounts):

    Reported

    As

    Rollover Method

    Iron Curtain Method

    Reported Metric

    Year

    Amount

    Revised

    Amount

    %

    Amount

    %

    Income Statement:

    Provision for income taxes

    2021

    $

    6,803

    $

    3,793

    $

    (3,010

    )

    (44.2

    )%

    2022

    $

    6,797

    $

    5,887

    $

    (910

    )

    (13.4

    )%

    $

    (3,920

    )

    (57.7

    )%

    Net income

    2021

    $

    24,501

    $

    27,511

    $

    3,010

    12.3

    %

    2022

    $

    38,755

    $

    39,665

    $

    910

    2.3

    %

    $

    3,920

    10.1

    %

    Comprehensive income

    2021

    $

    25,998

    $

    29,008

    $

    3,010

    11.6

    %

    2022

    $

    42,959

    $

    43,869

    $

    910

    2.1

    %

    $

    3,920

    9.1

    %

    Basic earnings per share

    2021

    $

    0.52

    $

    0.58

    $

    0.06

    11.5

    %

    2022

    $

    0.81

    $

    0.83

    $

    0.02

    2.5

    %

    $

    0.08

    9.9

    %

    Diluted earnings per share

    2021

    $

    0.50

    $

    0.56

    $

    0.06

    12.0

    %

    2022

    $

    0.78

    $

    0.80

    $

    0.02

    2.6

    %

    $

    0.08

    10.3

    %

  - 2 -

    Reported

    As

    Rollover Method

    Iron Curtain Method

    Reported Metric

    Year

    Amount

    Revised

    Amount

    %

    Amount

    %

    Cash flows from operating activities:

    Net income

    2021

    $

    24,501

    $

    27,511

    $

    3,010

    12.3

    %

    2022

    $

    38,755

    $

    39,665

    $

    910

    2.3

    %

    $

    3,920

    10.1

    %

    Deferred income taxes

    2021

    $

    1,495

    $

    (1,515

    )

    $

    (3,010

    )

    (201.3

    )%

    2022

    $

    (1,344

    )

    $

    (2,254

    )

    $

    (910

    )

    67.7

    %

    $

    (3,920

    )

    291.7

    %

    Reported

    As

    Rollover Method

    Iron Curtain Method

    Reported Metric

    Year

    Amount

    Revised

    Amount

    %

    Amount

    %

    Balance Sheet:

    Deferred income taxes

    2022

    $

    4,824

    $

    8,744

    $

    3,920

    81.3

    %

    $

    3,920

    81.3

    %

    Total assets

    2022

    $

    414,898

    $

    418,818

    $

    3,920

    0.9

    %

    $

    3,920

    0.9

    %

    Accumulated deficit

    2021

    $

    (111,390

    )

    $

    (108,380

    )

    $

    3,010

    (2.7

    )%

    $

    3,010

    (2.7

    )%

    2022

    $

    (72,635

    )

    $

    (68,715

    )

    $

    3,920

    (5.4

    )%

    $

    3,920

    (5.4

    )%

    Total stockholders’ equity

    2021

    $

    258,558

    $

    261,568

    $

    3,010

    1.2

    %

    $

    3,010

    1.2

    %

    2022

    $

    332,192

    $

    336,112

    $

    3,920

    1.2

    %

    $

    3,920

    1.2

    %

    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

    2022

    $

    414,898

    $

    418,818

    $

    3,920

    0.9

    %

    $

    3,920

    0.9

    %

  The Company recognizes that the impact of the correction for fiscal year 2021 resulted in increases in net income and diluted earnings per share in excess of 10%. However, the correction did not impact the trend in such metrics. As set forth in the table below, prior to and after the correction, the Company’s results still reflected a steep increase in net income and diluted earnings per share from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2021, which exceeded 300% (with and without the correction), and a further increase from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2022, which exceeded 40% (with and without the correction) (dollars in thousands, expect per share amounts):

    2020

    2021

    2022

    Net income

    As stated

    $

    5,913

    $

    24,501

    $

    38,755

    Increase Year Over Year

    314.4

    %

    58.2

    %

    As revised

    $

    5,913

    $

    27,511

    $

    39,665

    Increase Year Over Year

    365.3

    %

    44.2

    %

    Diluted EPS

    As stated

    $

    0.12

    $

    0.50

    $

    0.78

    Increase Year Over Year

    316.7

    %

    56.0

    %

    As revised

    $

    0.12

    $

    0.56

    $

    0.80

    Increase Year Over Year

    366.7

    %

    42.9

    %

  The Company considered the quantitative factors set forth in the tables above, as well as qualitative factors, with a focus on key metrics believed to be of greatest importance to the Company’s investors and shareholders. As a fast-growth company, investors and shareholders have generally focused on the Company’s revenue and revenue growth. As set forth above, the correction had no impact on revenue or gross profit (and the dollar amount of the correction was de-minimis in relation to the dollar amounts of both revenue and gross profit). Together with revenue, the Company’s investors and shareholders are keenly focused on metrics related to the Company’s implantable Collamer lens (“ICL”) (the Company’s key product), including ICL sales (and sales growth), and ICL units (and unit growth). This is supported by the fact that in each of the Company’s annual earnings press releases for fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2022, the top three bullets addressed net sales, ICL sales, and ICL units. The Company’s investors and shareholders have traditionally been less focused on taxes, net income and diluted earnings per share. Because the correction reduced the amount of tax expense, the correction resulted in an increase in net income and diluted earnings per share (i.e., the Company understated net income and diluted earnings per share).

  - 3 -

  In addition to the quantitative and qualitative considerations discussed above, the Company also noted the following in its qualitative analysis of materiality:

  •	The correction did not mask a change in earnings or other trends,

  •	The correction did not hide a failure to meet analysts’ consensus expectations for the enterprise,

  •	The correction did not change a loss into income or vice versa,

  •	The correction did not affect the Company’s compliance with regulatory requirements,

  •	The correction did not affect the Company’s compliance with loan covenants or other contractual requirements,

  •	The correction did not have the effect of increasing management’s compensation – for example, by satisfying requirements for the award of bonuses or other forms of incentive compensation, and

  •	The correction did not involve the concealment of an unlawful transaction.

  In addition, the Company’s policy election is to apply the Incremental Cash Tax approach when analyzing the impact of Global Intangible Low Tax Income (“GILTI”) on its U.S. valuation allowance (“VA”). While updating the aforementioned prior years’ tax provisions, the Company had to consider the deductibility of the Option Awards in its U.S. VA calculation, which resulted in additional tax benefits from fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year 2022.  Historically, the Company recognized net losses for fiscal year 2008 through fiscal year 2017 (other than with respect to fiscal year 2013, when there was minimal net income, which resulted in diluted earnings per share of $0.01) and had been in a full VA position given its history of U.S. tax losses. As set forth above the Company grew its revenue and net income from fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year 2022, and the VA release (due to higher NOLs attributable to the Section 162(m) adjustment) are directionally in line with the Company’s growth. Given the relatively small amount of tax expense recorded in fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year 2022, the impact of the correction had a greater percentage impact. As discussed above, the Company does not believe a key focus of its investors is tax expense, or taxes generally, and it does not believe the correction affected the total mix of information available to investors.  This is supported by a review of the transcripts from the Company’s last four quarterly earnings calls, which the Company furnishes to the SEC on Form 8-K.  The transcripts reflect that no questions were asked by investors regarding the Company’s tax expense, deferred income taxes or its VA position.

  While the Company determined that a correction was appropriate to address the deductibility of the Option Awards under Section 162(m), the Company concluded that the impact of the correction on the Company’s financial statements, after assessing materiality under SAB Topic 1:M and 1:N and considering the quantitative and qualitative factors set forth above, was not material to the Company’s previously issued consolidated financial statements. The Company intends to include disclosure regarding the correction in future periodic reports filed with the SEC, as applicable, consistent with the disclosure included in the Form 10-Q.

  Liquidity and Capital Resources, page 23

  2.We note that cash flows from operating activities were impacted by working capital changes, including an increase in accounts receivable of $50.