17 C.F.R. § 227.201
An issuer offering or selling securities in reliance on section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act (15 U.S.C. 77d(a)(6)) and in accordance with section 4A of the Securities Act (15 U.S.C. 77d-1) and this part, and any co-issuer jointly offering or selling securities with such an issuer in reliance on the same, must file with the Commission and provide to investors and the relevant intermediary the following information:
(b) The names of the directors and officers (and any persons occupying a similar status or performing a similar function) of the issuer, all positions and offices with the issuer held by such persons, the period of time in which such persons served in the position or office and their business experience during the past three years, including:
(2) The name and principal business of any corporation or other organization in which such occupation and employment took place.
Instruction to paragraph (b). For purposes of this paragraph (b), the term officer means a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer or principal financial officer, comptroller or principal accounting officer, and any person routinely performing similar functions.
(i) A description of the purpose and intended use of the offering proceeds;
Instruction to paragraph (i). An issuer must provide a reasonably detailed description of any intended use of proceeds, such that investors are provided with enough information to understand how the offering proceeds will be used. If an issuer has identified a range of possible uses, the issuer should identify and describe each probable use and the factors the issuer may consider in allocating proceeds among the potential uses. If the issuer will accept proceeds in excess of the target offering amount, the issuer must describe the purpose, method for allocating oversubscriptions, and intended use of the excess proceeds with similar specificity.
(j) A description of the process to complete the transaction or cancel an investment commitment, including a statement that:
(m) A description of the ownership and capital structure of the issuer, including:
(o) A description of the intermediary's financial interests in the issuer's transaction and in the issuer, including:
(q) A description of exempt offerings conducted within the past three years;
Instruction to paragraph (q). In providing a description of any prior exempt offerings, disclose:
(r) A description of any transaction since the beginning of the issuer's last fiscal year, or any currently proposed transaction, to which the issuer was or is to be a party and the amount involved exceeds five percent of the aggregate amount of capital raised by the issuer in reliance on section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act (15 U.S.C. 77d(a)(6)) during the preceding 12-month period, inclusive of the amount the issuer seeks to raise in the current offering under section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act, in which any of the following persons had or is to have a direct or indirect material interest:
(4) Any member of the family of any of the foregoing persons, which includes a child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse or spousal equivalent, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, and shall include adoptive relationships. The term spousal equivalent means a cohabitant occupying a relationship generally equivalent to that of a spouse.
Instruction 1 to paragraph (r). For each transaction identified, disclose the name of the specified person and state his or her relationship to the issuer, and the nature and, where practicable, the approximate amount of his or her interest in the transaction. The amount of such interest shall be computed without regard to the amount of the profit or loss involved in the transaction. Where it is not practicable to state the approximate amount of the interest, the approximate amount involved in the transaction shall be disclosed.
Instruction 2 to paragraph (r). For purposes of paragraph (r), a transaction includes, but is not limited to, any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships.
(s) A discussion of the issuer's financial condition, including, to the extent material, liquidity, capital resources and historical results of operations;
Instruction 1 to paragraph (s). The discussion must cover each period for which financial statements of the issuer are provided. An issuer also must include a discussion of any material changes or trends known to management in the financial condition and results of operations of the issuer subsequent to the period for which financial statements are provided.
Instruction 2 to paragraph (s). For issuers with no prior operating history, the discussion should focus on financial milestones and operational, liquidity and other challenges. For issuers with an operating history, the discussion should focus on whether historical results and cash flows are representative of what investors should expect in the future. Issuers should take into account the proceeds of the offering and any other known or pending sources of capital. Issuers also should discuss how the proceeds from the offering will affect the issuer's liquidity, whether receiving these funds and any other additional funds is necessary to the viability of the business, and how quickly the issuer anticipates using its available cash. In addition, issuers should describe the other available sources of capital to the business, such as lines of credit or required contributions by shareholders.
Instruction 3 to paragraph (s). References to the issuer in this paragraph and its instructions refer to the issuer and its predecessors, if any.
(t) For offerings that, together with all other amounts sold under section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act (15 U.S.C. 77d(a)(6)) within the preceding 12-month period, have, in the aggregate, the following target offering amounts:
(3) More than $618,000, financial statements of the issuer audited by a public accountant that is independent of the issuer; provided, however, that for issuers that have not previously sold securities in reliance on section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act (15 U.S.C. 77d(a)(6)), offerings that have a target offering amount of more than $618,000, but not more than $1,235,000, financial statements of the issuer reviewed by a public accountant that is independent of the issuer. If financial statements of the issuer are available that have been audited by a public accountant that is independent of the issuer, the issuer must provide those financial statements instead and need not include the reviewed financial statements.
Instruction 1 to paragraph (t). To determine the financial statements required under this paragraph (t), an issuer must aggregate amounts sold in reliance on section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act (15 U.S.C. 77d(a)(6)) within the preceding 12-month period and the offering amount in the offering for which disclosure is being provided. If the issuer will accept proceeds in excess of the target offering amount, the issuer must include the maximum offering amount that the issuer will accept in the calculation to determine the financial statements required under this paragraph (t).
Instruction 2 to paragraph (t). An issuer may voluntarily meet the requirements of this paragraph (t) for a higher aggregate target offering amount.
Instruction 3 to paragraph (t). The financial statements must be prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and include balance sheets, statements of comprehensive income, statements of cash flows, statements of changes in stockholders' equity and notes to the financial statements. If the financial statements are not audited, they must be labeled as “unaudited.” The financial statements must cover the two most recently completed fiscal years or the period(s) since inception, if shorter.
Instruction 4 to paragraph (t). For an offering conducted in the first 120 days of a fiscal year, the financial statements provided may be for the two fiscal years prior to the issuer's most recently completed fiscal year; however, financial statements for the two most recently completed fiscal years must be provided if they are otherwise available. If more than 120 days have passed since the end of the issuer's most recently completed fiscal year, the financial statements provided must be for the issuer's two most recently completed fiscal years. If the 120th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the next business day shall be considered the 120th day for purposes of determining the age of the financial statements.
Instruction 5 to paragraph (t). An issuer may elect to delay complying with any new or revised financial accounting standard that applies to companies that are not issuers (as defined under section 2(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 7201(a)) until the date that such companies are required to comply with such new or revised accounting standard. Issuers electing this accommodation must disclose it at the time the issuer files its offering statement and apply the election to all standards. Issuers electing not to use this accommodation must forgo this accommodation for all financial accounting standards and may not elect to rely on this accommodation in any future filings.
Instruction 6 to paragraph (t). An issuer required to provide information from a tax return under paragraph (t)(1) of this section before filing a tax return with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for the most recently completed fiscal year may provide information from its tax return for the prior year (if any), provided that the issuer provides information from the tax return for the most recently completed fiscal year when it is filed with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (if the tax return is filed during the offering period). An issuer that requested an extension from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service would not be required to provide information from the tax return until the date the return is filed, if filed during the offering period. If an issuer has not yet filed a tax return and is not required to file a tax return before the end of the offering period, then the tax return information does not need to be provided.
Instruction 7 to paragraph (t). An issuer providing financial statements that are not audited or reviewed and tax information as specified under paragraph (t)(1) of this section must have its principal executive officer provide the following certification:
I, [identify the certifying individual], certify that:
(2) the tax return information of [identify the issuer] included in this Form reflects accurately the information reported on the tax return for [identify the issuer] filed for the fiscal year ended [date of most recent tax return].
[Signature and title].
Instruction 8 to paragraph (t). Financial statement reviews shall be conducted in accordance with the Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services issued by the Accounting and Review Services Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. A signed review report must accompany the reviewed financial statements, and an issuer must notify the public accountant of the issuer's intended use of the review report in the offering. An issuer will not be in compliance with the requirement to provide reviewed financial statements if the review report includes modifications.
Instruction 9 to paragraph (t). Financial statement audits shall be conducted in accordance with either auditing standards issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (referred to as U.S. Generally Accepted Auditing Standards) or the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. A signed audit report must accompany audited financial statements, and an issuer must notify the public accountant of the issuer's intended use of the audit report in the offering. An issuer will not be in compliance with the requirement to provide audited financial statements if the audit report includes a qualified opinion, an adverse opinion, or a disclaimer of opinion.
Instruction 10 to paragraph (t). To qualify as a public accountant that is independent of the issuer for purposes of this part, the accountant must satisfy the independence standards of either:
(ii) The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The public accountant that audits or reviews the financial statements provided by an issuer must be:
(B) In good standing and entitled to practice as a public accountant under the laws of his or her place of residence or principal office.
Instruction 11 to paragraph (t). Except as set forth in § 227.100(c), references to the issuer in this paragraph (t) and its instructions (2) through (10) refer to the issuer and its predecessors, if any.
(u) Any matters that would have triggered disqualification under § 227.503(a) but occurred before May 16, 2016. The failure to provide such disclosure shall not prevent an issuer from continuing to rely on the exemption provided by section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act (15 U.S.C. 77d(a)(6)) if the issuer establishes that it did not know and, in the exercise of reasonable care, could not have known of the existence of the undisclosed matter or matters;
Instruction to paragraph (u). An issuer will not be able to establish that it could not have known of a disqualification unless it has made factual inquiry into whether any disqualifications exist. The nature and scope of the factual inquiry will vary based on the facts and circumstances concerning, among other things, the issuer and the other offering participants.
(aa) [Reserved]
Instruction to § 227.201. If disclosure provided pursuant to any paragraph of this section also satisfies the requirements of one or more other paragraphs of this section, it is not necessary to repeat the disclosure. Instead of repeating information, an issuer may include a cross-reference to disclosure contained elsewhere in the offering statement or report, including to information in the financial statements.
[80 FR 71537, Nov. 16, 2015, as amended at 82 FR 17552, Apr. 12, 2017; 85 FR 27131, May 7, 2020; 85 FR 54490, Sept. 2, 2020; 86 FR 3590, 3591, Jan. 14, 2021; 87 FR 57398, Sept. 20, 2022]