What internal controls is the management of Bigfoot Forestry responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining regarding the preparation of financial statements?

According to Bigfoot Forestry's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the company's management is responsible for the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal controls relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements. These controls are meant to ensure that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. This responsibility is a standard expectation for management in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

For a prospective Bigfoot Forestry franchisee, this indicates that the franchisor's financial statements, which are included in the FDD, are prepared with a certain level of internal oversight and control. This provides a degree of assurance that the financial information presented is reliable and fairly represents the company's financial position. The presence of these controls, while not a guarantee against all errors or fraud, suggests that Bigfoot Forestry takes its financial reporting obligations seriously.

Furthermore, the financial statements of Bigfoot Forestry are audited by an independent auditor, Metwally CPA PLLC. The auditor's role is to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes their opinion. The auditor also obtains an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of Bigfoot Franchising, LLC's internal control. This independent audit provides an additional layer of scrutiny and validation of the financial information presented by Bigfoot Forestry.