Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Description of Business

v3.22.2
Description of Business
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Description of Business

Note 1 - Description of Business

 

Description of Business

 

Akerna Corp., herein referred to as we, us, our, the Company or Akerna, through our wholly-owned subsidiaries MJ Freeway, LLC, or MJF, Trellis Solutions, Inc., or Trellis, Ample Organics, Inc, the Company or Ample, solo sciences, inc., or Solo, Viridian Sciences Inc., or Viridian, and The NAV People, Inc. d.b.a. 365 Cannabis, or 365 Cannabis, provides enterprise software solutions that enable regulatory compliance and inventory management. Our proprietary, broad and growing suite of solutions are adaptable for industries in which interfacing with government regulatory agencies for compliance purposes is required, or where the tracking of organic materials from seed or plant to end products is desired. We develop products intended to assist states in monitoring licensed businesses’ compliance with state regulations and to help state-licensed businesses operate in compliance with such law. We provide our commercial software platform, MJ Platform®, Trellis®, Ample, Viridian and 365 Cannabis to state-licensed businesses, and our regulatory software platform, Leaf Data Systems®, to state government regulatory agencies. Through Solo, we provide an innovative, next-generation solution for state and national governments to securely track product and waste throughout the supply chain with solo*TAG™. The integration of MJ Platform® and solo*CODE™ results in technology for consumers and brands that brings a consumer-facing mark designed to highlight the authenticity and signify transparency.

 

Our Viridian and 365 Cannabis offerings are considered enterprise offerings while all other solutions are considered non-enterprise offerings that meet the needs of our small and medium-sized business, or SMB, customers.

 

We consult with clients on a wide range of areas to help them successfully maintain compliance with state laws and regulations. We provide project-focused consulting services to clients who are initiating or expanding their cannabis business operations or are interested in data consulting engagements with respect to the legal cannabis industry. Our advisory engagements include service offerings focused on compliance requirement assessments, readiness and best practices, compliance monitoring systems, application processes, inspection readiness, and business plan and compliance reviews. We typically provide our consulting services to clients in emerging markets that are seeking consultation on newly introduced licensing regimes and assistance with the regulatory compliant build-out of operations.

 

Going Concern and Management's Liquidity Plans

 

In accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) standard on going concern, Accounting Standard Update (ASU) No. 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity's Ability to Continue as a Going Concern (ASU 2014-15), we assess going concern uncertainty in our consolidated financial statements to determine if we have sufficient cash, cash equivalents and working capital on hand, including marketable equity securities, and any available borrowings on loans, to operate for a period of at least one year from the date the consolidated financial statements are issued, which is defined to as the “look-forward period” in ASU 2014-15. As part of this assessment, based on conditions that are known and reasonably knowable to us, we will consider various scenarios, forecasts, projections, estimates and will make certain key assumptions, including the timing and nature of projected cash expenditures or programs, and our ability to delay or curtail expenditures or programs, if necessary, among other factors. Based on this assessment, as necessary or applicable, we make certain assumptions regarding implementing curtailments or delays in the nature and timing of programs and expenditures to the extent we deem probable that such implementations can be achieved and we have the proper authority to execute them within the look-forward period in accordance with ASU 2014-15.

 

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis that we will continue as a going concern, which contemplates realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. However, since our inception we have incurred recurring losses from operations, used cash from operating activities, and relied on capital raising transactions to continue ongoing operations. During the six months ended June 30, 2022 and June 30, 2021, we incurred losses from operations of $49.9 million and $9.6 million, respectively, and used cash in operating activities of $7.2 million and $3.7 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2022, we had a working capital deficit of $13.2 million with $5.1 million in cash available to fund future operations. Furthermore, on May 24, 2022, we received a notice (the “Notice”) from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC indicating that the bid price of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”), is not currently in compliance with the requirement to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Nasdaq Market”). The Notice has no immediate effect on the continued listing status of our Common Stock on the Nasdaq Market, and, therefore, our listing remains fully effective. We are provided a compliance period of 180 calendar days from the date of the Notice, or until November 21, 2022, to regain compliance with the minimum closing bid requirement. These factors raise substantial doubt regarding the ability of  the Company to continue as a going concern.

 

 

 Management’s plan for the Company to continue as a going concern includes several initiatives and actions including those impacting our short and intermediate term financing, continuing costs, primarily labor and employee benefits, our working capital and the liquidity of our Common Stock. Certain of these initiatives and actions began during the quarter ended June 30, 2022 while others were initiated in July 2022.


The most significant components of our plan include the following: (i) realizing annualized cost savings associated with the corporate restructuring initiative (the “Restructuring”) that we announced in May 2022 which resulted in a reduction in workforce and related operating costs (see Note 4), (ii) entering into an amendment and waiver agreement to the securities purchase agreement associated with our 2021 Senior Convertible Notes (the “Senior Convertible Notes”) on June 30, 2022 (the “Convertible Notes Amendment”) which, among other factors, provides for a deferral of the required amortization payments due and payable from July 1, 2022 through January 1, 2023 (see Note 4), (iii) deploying for working capital needs of the net proceeds of approximately $2 million received from our offering of Common Stock and warrants (the “Unit Offering”) in a transaction that closed on July 5, 2022 (see Note 4), net of underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses and after depositing $7 million of the proceeds into certain restricted cash accounts in accordance with the Convertible Notes Amendment, (iv) conservatively managing our working capital through disciplined cost-containment efforts and strategic management of our accounts receivable and accounts payable cycles (v) addressing the potential liquidity of our Common Stock in connection with the minimum listing requirements for the Nasdaq Market through a proposed 1-to-20 reverse stock split (the Reverse Stock Split”) and (vi) continuing to seek to grow our customer base and realize synergies as we continue to integrate our recent acquisitions.

We anticipate the initiatives and actions described above will provide us with sufficient liquidity in order to operate our business in the normal course for the second half of 2022  until such time that the an earn-out payment associated with a 2021 acquisition is due in December 2022 (see Note 4), in part, to the fact that the debt service obligations associated with the Senior Convertible Notes for the first half of 2023 have effectively been substantially pre-funded with the amounts deposited into restricted accounts as required by the Convertible Notes Amendment. In the second half of 2022, we plan to continue to rigorously explore potential financing alternatives and other strategic options in addition to enhancing the liquidity of our Common Stock. In addition to and to the extent practical in the future, based on market conditions, we will consider incremental offerings of Common Stock through our previously authorized ATM Program; however, we do not consider this a viable alternative unless and until we are able to successfully address the minimum listing requirements of the Nasdaq Market with the proposed Reverse Stock Split. Through July 31, 2022, we have utilized $2.7 million of the total $25 million authorized by the ATM Program.


If we are unable to secure other potential financing alternatives or fail to execute any other strategic options to raise sufficient additional funds through the first half of 2023, including through the ATM Program, we will have to develop and implement more aggressive plans to address our liquidity needs and our ability to satisfy the scheduled maturity of our obligations under the Senior Convertible Notes. Such plans could include extending payables, further reductions of expenditures (including the termination of additional employees) and reducing or eliminating investments in and the funding of certain of our business units and initiatives, or otherwise substantially scale back our business plan until sufficient additional capital is raised through other equity or debt offerings. Such offerings may include the issuance of shares of common stock, warrants to purchase common stock, preferred stock, convertible debt or other instruments that may dilute our current stockholders. Accordingly, we may be subject to additional risks, including retention of key employees and limitations on the extension of credit by our vendors and other service providers. If we are required to raise additional capital as discussed above and if we cannot timely raise additional funds, we may be unable to meet the financial covenants of the Senior Convertible Notes, which could result in an event of default under those instruments which could adversely impact the Company. See the risks detailed in our Form 10-K under “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Risks Relating to our Convertible Debt”.

 

Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to successfully execute the plans described above and attain profitable operations. Despite the comprehensive scope of our plans, the inherent risks associated with their successful execution are not sufficient to fully overcome substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for one year from the date of issuance of the consolidated financial statements. Accordingly, if we are unable to raise sufficient capital we may have to reduce operations which could significantly and adversely affect our results of operations. If we fail to meet the financial covenants of the Senior Convertible Notes and cannot obtain a waiver from such provisions or otherwise come to an agreement with the holders of our debt, such holders may declare a default on the debt which could subject our assets to seizure and sale, negatively impacting our business.


The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of assets and liabilities that might be necessary if the Company is unable to continue as a going concern.