AYRO Inc. filed SEC Form 8-K: Changes in Registrant's Certifying Accountant, Shareholder Director Nominations, Financial Statements and Exhibits
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Item 4.01 Changes in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant.
Based on information provided by Marcum LLP (“Marcum”), the independent registered public accounting firm of AYRO, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), CBIZ CPAs P.C. (“CBIZ CPAs”) acquired the attest business of Marcum, effective November 1, 2024. Marcum continued to serve as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm through April 10, 2025. On April 10, 2025, the Company terminated its relationship with Marcum as the Company’s independent registered accounting firm and, with the approval of the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors, engaged CBIZ CPAs as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.
Prior to engaging CBIZ CPAs, the Company did not consult with CBIZ CPAs regarding (i) the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, or (ii) any matter that was either the subject of a disagreement (as described in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions) or a reportable event (as described in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions).
The reports of Marcum regarding the Company’s consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, did not contain any adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principles, except that the report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 included an explanatory paragraph relating to substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, and through April 10, 2025, the date of Marcum’s termination, there were (a) no disagreements (as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions) between the Company and Marcum on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedures, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Marcum, would have caused Marcum to make reference to such disagreement in its reports and (b) no “reportable events” (as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions), except for the material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting due to: (i) the fact that the Company was unable to document, formalize, implement and revise where necessary controls, policies and procedure documentation to evidence a system of controls, inclusive of IT controls, including testing of such controls that is consistent with the Company’s current personnel and available resources; (ii) the failure to document, maintain and test effective control activities over the Company’s control environment, risk assessment, information technology and monitoring components; and (iii) the Company’s insufficient segregation of duties, oversight of work performed and lack of compensating controls in the Company’s finance and accounting functions, including, without limitation, the processing, review and authorization of all routine and non-routine transactions, due to limited personnel and resources, each as disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
The Company provided Marcum with a copy of this Current Report on Form 8-K prior to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and requested that Marcum furnish the Company with a letter addressed to the SEC, pursuant to Item 304(a)(3) of Regulation S-K, stating whether it agrees with the above statements and, if it does not agree, the respects in which it does not agree. A copy of the letter, dated April 10, 2025, is filed as Exhibit 16.1 (which is incorporated by reference herein) to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
Item 5.08 Shareholder Director Nominations.
On April 7, 2025, the Board of Directors of the Company determined that the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) will be held virtually by means of remote communication on May 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. eastern time.
Due to the fact that the date of the Annual Meeting has been changed by more than 30 days from the anniversary date of the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, the Company is providing the due date for submission of any qualified stockholder proposal or qualified stockholder nominations. Stockholders of the Company who wish to have a proposal considered for inclusion in the Company’s proxy materials for the Annual Meeting pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), must ensure that such proposal is received by the Company’s Secretary at its corporate office at 1185 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, on or before the close of business on April 18, 2025, which the Company has determined to be a reasonable time before it expects to begin in print and send its proxy materials in accordance with Rule 14a-5(f) and Rule 14a-8(e) under the Exchange Act. Any such proposal must also meet the requirements set forth in the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to be eligible for inclusion in the proxy materials for the Annual Meeting.
In addition, in accordance with the requirements contained in the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws (“Bylaws”), stockholders of the Company who wish to bring business before the Annual Meeting outside of Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act or to nominate a person for election as a director must ensure that written notice of such proposal (including all information specified in the Company’s Bylaws) is received by the Company’s Secretary at the address specified above no later than the close of business on April 18, 2025. Any such proposal must meet the requirements set forth in the Company’s Bylaws in order to be brought before the Annual Meeting.
In addition, to comply with the universal proxy rules, stockholders who intend to solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than our nominees must provide notice that sets forth the information required by Rule 14a-19 under the Exchange Act by April 18, 2025.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
| Exhibit No. | Description of Exhibit | |
| 16.1 | Letter from Marcum LLP dated April 10, 2025 | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document). |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| AYRO, INC. | |||
| Date: | April 10, 2025 | By: | /s/ Joshua Silverman |
| Joshua Silverman | |||
| Executive Chairman | |||