NOTE 2 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES 

[A] Principles of consolidation:

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Powerfleet, Inc. and its subsidiaries (which, as noted above, are collectively referred to herein as the “Company”). All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

[B] Use of estimates:

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The Company continually evaluates estimates used in the preparation of the financial statements for reasonableness. The most significant estimates relate to realization of deferred tax assets, accounting for uncertain tax positions, the impairment of intangible assets, including goodwill, capitalized software development costs, market-based stock-based compensation costs, standalone selling prices (“SSP”), valuation of the derivative asset, and assumptions used in business combinations. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

As of March 31, 2024, the impact of global uncertainties continues to unfold. As a result, many of our estimates and assumptions required increased judgment and carry a higher degree of variability and volatility. As events continue to evolve and additional information becomes available, our estimates may change materially in future periods.

[C] Cash and cash equivalents:

The Company considers all highly liquid debt instruments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents unless they are legally or contractually restricted. The Company’s cash and cash equivalent balances exceed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) and other local jurisdictional limits. Restricted cash at December 31, 2022 and 2023 consisted of cash held in escrow for purchases from a vendor and restricted cash at March 31, 2024 consisted of escrow amounts of $85,000 for the Facilities Agreement deposited in escrow for the MiX Combination and cash of $310 held in escrow for purchases from a vendor.  

[D] Accounts receivable and allowance for credit losses:

Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. Amounts collected on trade accounts receivable are included in net cash provided by operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. The Company maintains an allowance for credit losses against its accounts receivable for potential losses.

The Company’s receivables were evaluated to determine an appropriate allowance for credit losses. For trade receivables, the Company’s historical collections were analyzed by the number of days past due to determine the uncollectible rate in each range of days past due and considerations of any changes expected in the future. The estimate of the allowance for credit losses is charged to the allowance for credit losses based on the age of receivables multiplied by the historical uncollectible rate for the range of days past due or earlier if the account is deemed uncollectible for other reasons. Recoveries of amounts previously charged as uncollectible are credited to the allowance for credit losses.

Accounts receivable is net of an allowance for credit losses in the amount of $2,567, $2,797 and $3,197 at December 31, 2022 and 2023 and March 31, 2024, respectively. The Company does not have any off-balance sheet credit exposure related to its customers.

An analysis of the allowance for credit losses for the periods ended December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024 is as follows:

SCHEDULE OF ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES

During the year ended December 31, 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2024, the change in the allowance for credit losses was due to the change in the age of trade receivables, offset by write-offs of bad debts.

[E] Revenue recognition:

The Company and its subsidiaries generate revenue from sales of systems and products and from customer SaaS and hosting infrastructure fees. Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for transferring goods or providing services. Sales, value add, and other taxes the Company collects concurrently with revenue-producing activities are excluded from revenue. Incidental items that are immaterial in the context of the contract are recognized as expense. The expected costs associated with the Company’s base warranties continue to be recognized as an expense when the products are sold (see Note 12).

Revenue is recognized when performance obligations under the terms of a contract with the customer are satisfied. Product sales are recognized at a point in time when title transfers, when the products are shipped, or when control of the system is transferred to the customer, which usually is upon delivery of the system and when contractual performance obligations have been satisfied. For products which are not distinct to the customer separate from the SaaS services provided, the Company considers both hardware and SaaS services a bundled performance obligation. Under the applicable accounting guidance, all of the Company’s billings for future services are deferred and classified as a current and long-term liability. The deferred revenue is recognized over the service contract life, ranging from one to five years, beginning at the time that a customer acknowledges acceptance of the equipment and service. Payment terms are generally 30 days after invoice date.

The Company recognizes revenue for remotely hosted SaaS agreements and post-contract maintenance and support agreements beyond our standard warranties over the life of the contract. Revenue is recognized ratably over the service periods and the cost of providing these services is expensed as incurred. Amounts invoiced to customers which are not recognized as revenue are classified as deferred revenue and classified as current or long-term based upon the terms of future services to be delivered. Deferred revenue also includes prepayment of extended maintenance, hosting and support contracts.

The Company earns other service revenues from installation services, training and technical support services which are short-term in nature and revenue for these services is recognized at the time of performance when the service is provided.

The Company also derives revenue from leasing arrangements. Such arrangements provide for monthly payments covering product or system sale, maintenance, support and interest. These arrangements meet the criteria to be accounted for as operating or sales-type leases. Accordingly, for sales-type leases an asset is established for the “sales-type lease receivable” at the present value of the expected lease payments and revenue is deferred and recognized over the service contract, as described above. Maintenance revenues and interest income are recognized monthly over the lease term.

The Company’s contracts with customers may include multiple performance obligations. For such arrangements, the Company allocates revenue to each performance obligation based on its relative SSP. Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each distinct performance obligation. The Company generally determines standalone selling prices based on observable prices charged to customers. Significant pricing practices taken into consideration include the Company’s discounting practices, the size and volume of its transactions, the customer demographic, price lists, its go-to-market strategy and historical and current sales and contract prices. As the Company’s go-to-market strategies evolve, it may modify its pricing practices in the future, which could result in changes to SSP.

In certain cases, the Company is able to establish SSP based on observable prices of products or services sold separately in comparable circumstances to similar customers. The Company uses a single amount to estimate SSP when it has observable prices. If SSP is not directly observable, for example when pricing is highly variable, the Company uses a range of SSP. The Company determines the SSP range using information that may include pricing practices or other observable inputs. The Company typically has more than one SSP for individual products and services due to the stratification of those products and services by customer size.

The Company recognizes an asset for the incremental costs of obtaining the contract arising from the sales commissions to employees because the Company expects to recover those costs through future fees from the customers. The Company amortizes the asset over one to five years because the asset relates to the services transferred to the customer during the contract term of one to five years.

The Company does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for (i) contracts with an original expected length of one year or less and (ii) contracts for which the Company recognizes revenue at the amount to which the Company has the right to invoice for services performed.

[F] Inventory:

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined using the “moving average” cost method or the first-in first-out (“FIFO”) method. Inventory consists of components, work in process and finished products.

Inventory valuation reserves are established in order to report inventories at the lower of cost or net realizable value in the consolidated balance sheet. The determination of inventory valuation reserves requires management to make estimates and judgments on the future salability of inventories. Valuation reserves for obsolete and slow-moving inventory are estimated based on assumptions of future sales forecasts, product life cycle expectations, the impact of new product introductions, production requirements, and specific identification of items, such as product discontinuance or engineering/material changes and by comparing the inventory levels to historical usage rates.

[G] Fixed assets and depreciation:

Fixed assets are recorded at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation and amortization are recognized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. The following table provides the range of estimated useful lives used for each asset type:

 SCHEDULE OF ESTIMATED USEFUL LIVES OF ASSET 

[H] Long-lived assets:

Long-lived assets, which include definite lived intangible assets and fixed assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The recoverability of assets to be held and used is assessed by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to the future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets and would be charged to earnings. Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques including discounted cash flow models, quoted market values and third-party independent appraisals, as considered necessary.

[I] Goodwill and intangibles:

Goodwill represents costs in excess of fair values assigned to the underlying net assets of acquired businesses. Goodwill and intangible assets deemed to have indefinite lives are not amortized and are tested for impairment on an annual basis and between annual tests whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Intangible assets other than goodwill are amortized over their useful lives unless the lives are determined to be indefinite. Intangible assets are carried at cost, less accumulated amortization. Intangible assets consist of trademarks and trade name, patents, customer relationships, software to be sold or leased, and other intangible assets. Goodwill is tested at the reporting unit level, which is defined as an operating segment or one level below the operating segment. The Company operates in one operating segment which is its only reporting unit. The Company tests its goodwill for impairment annually, which is the first day of the Company’s fourth quarter or when an indicator of impairment exists, by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying value.

In the evaluation of goodwill for impairment, the Company has the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether further impairment testing is necessary or to perform a quantitative assessment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. Under the qualitative assessment, an entity is not required to calculate the fair value of a reporting unit unless the entity determines that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. By eliminating “Step 2” from the goodwill impairment test, the quantitative analysis of goodwill will result in an impairment loss for the amount that the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value which is limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit.

In performing the quantitative assessment, the Company measures the fair value of the reporting unit using a combination of a market approach and a discounted cash flow method, as a form of the income approach. The market approach includes the use of comparative revenue and adjusted EBITDA multiples to complement discounted cash flow results. The discounted cash flow method is based on the present value of the projected cash flows and a terminal value. The terminal value represents the expected normalized future cash flows of the reporting unit beyond the cash flows from the discrete projection period. The fair value of the reporting unit is calculated based on the sum of the present value of the cash flows from the discrete period and the present value of the terminal value. The discount rate represented our estimate of the WACC, or expected return, that a marketplace participant would have required as of the valuation date. The application of our goodwill impairment test required key assumptions underlying our valuation model.

The discounted cash flow analysis factored in assumptions on discount rates and terminal growth rates to reflect risk profiles, as well as revenue and cost growth relative to history and market trends and expectations. The market multiples approach incorporated judgment involved in the selection of comparable public company multiples and benchmarks. The selection of companies and multiples was influenced by differences in growth and profitability, and volatility in market prices of peer companies. These valuation inputs are inherently judgmental, and an adverse change in one or a combination of these inputs could trigger a goodwill impairment loss in the future.

For the three-months ended March 31, 2024, the Company performed a qualitative assessment of goodwill. The Company considered such factors as the Company’s market capitalization as of March 31, 2024 and over a period of time, macroeconomic conditions, industry and market considerations, and overall financial performance. For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 and the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022 and 2023, the Company did not incur an impairment charge.

[J] Product warranties:

The Company typically provides a 1 – 8-year warranty on its products. Estimated future warranty costs are accrued in the period that the related revenue is recognized and are included in accounts payable and accrued expenses in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. These estimates are derived from historical data and trends of product reliability and costs of repairing and replacing defective products.

[K] Research and development:

Research and development costs are charged to expense as incurred and consist primarily of salaries and related expenses, supplies and contractor costs. Research and development costs were $1,723 (unaudited), $2,018, $11,429, $8,472, and $8,380 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 and the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively.

[L] Patent costs:

Costs incurred in connection with acquiring patent rights are charged to expense as incurred.

[M] Concentrations of credit risk:

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company and its subsidiaries to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents and trade receivables.

The Company’s cash and cash equivalents are invested primarily in deposits with major banks worldwide. Generally, these deposits may be redeemed upon demand and, therefore, bear low risk. Management believes that the financial institutions that hold the Company’s investments have a high credit rating.

For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 and the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022, and 2023, there were no customers who generated revenues greater than 10% of the Company’s consolidated total revenues or generated greater than 10% of the Company’s consolidated accounts receivable.

[N] Benefit plan:

The Company maintains a retirement plan under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, which covers all eligible employees. All employees with U.S. source income are eligible to participate in the plan immediately upon employment. The Company did not make any contributions to the plan during the year ended December 31, 2021. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023 and three month periods ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, the Company contributed $285, $379, $104 (unaudited), and $88, respectively, to the plan.

[O] Severance pay:

The liability of the Company’s subsidiaries in Israel for severance pay is calculated pursuant to Israel’s Severance Pay Law 5273-1963 (the “Severance Law”) based on the most recent salary of the employees multiplied by the number of years of employment as of balance sheet date and are presented on an undiscounted basis. Employees are entitled to one month’s salary for each year of employment, or a portion thereof. The liability for the Company and its subsidiaries in Israel is fully provided by monthly deposits with insurance policies and by accrual. The value of these policies is recorded as an asset in the Company’s balance sheet.

The deposited funds may be withdrawn only upon the fulfillment of the obligation pursuant to the Severance Law or labor agreements. The value of the deposited funds is based on the cash surrendered value of these policies, and includes profits or losses accumulated to balance sheet date.

Some of the Company’s employees are subject to Section 14 of the Severance Law and the General Approval of the Labor Minister dated June 30, 1998, issued in accordance to the said Section 14, mandating that upon termination of such employees’ employment, all the amounts accrued in their insurance policies shall be released to them. The severance pay liabilities and deposits covered by these plans are not reflected in the balance sheet as the severance pay risks have been irrevocably transferred to the severance funds.

[P] Stock-based compensation:

The Company accounts for stock-based employee compensation for all share-based payments, including grants of stock options and restricted stock, as an operating expense based on their fair values on the grant date. The Company recorded stock-based compensation expense of $4,676, $4,343, $3,908, $832, and 1,028 for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022, and 2023 and the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.

The Company estimates the fair value of share-based option awards on the grant date using an option pricing model. The value of the portion of the award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as expense over the requisite service period in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations. The Company estimates forfeitures at the time of grant in order to estimate the amount of share-based awards that will ultimately vest. The estimate is based on the Company’s historical rates of forfeitures. Estimated forfeitures are revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates.

[Q] Income taxes:

The Company uses the asset and liability method of accounting for deferred income taxes. Deferred income taxes are measured by applying enacted statutory rates to net operating loss carryforwards and to the differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets are reduced, if necessary, by a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

The Company recognizes uncertainty in income taxes in the financial statements using a recognition threshold and measurement attribute of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The Company applies the “more-likely-than-not” recognition threshold to all tax positions, commencing at the adoption date of the applicable accounting guidance, which resulted in no unrecognized tax benefits as of such date. Additionally, there have been no unrecognized tax benefits subsequent to adoption. The Company has opted to classify interest and penalties that would accrue according to the provisions of relevant tax law as selling, general, and administrative expenses and incomes taxes, respectively, in the consolidated statement of operations. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022, and 2023 and three months ended March 31, 2023 (unaudited) and 2024, interest and penalties were immaterial. The Company elected to account for the U.S. tax on its Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”) from its foreign subsidiaries as a period cost and, therefore included GILTI expense in its effective tax rate calculation.

[R] Fair value of financial instruments:

The Company utilizes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. The following is a brief description of those levels:

The Company’s cash and cash equivalents and investments in securities are carried at fair value. The carrying value of financing receivables approximates fair value due to the interest rate implicit in the instruments approximating current market rates. The carrying value of accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities and short-term bank debt approximates their fair values due to the short period to maturity of these instruments. The fair value of the Company’s debt is based on observable relevant market information and future cash flows discounted at current rates, which are Level 2 measurements. The fair value of the prepayment derivative includes at least one unobservable input, which is a Level 3 measurement. See Note 11 for further discussion.

 SCHEDULE OF FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS 

[S] Advertising and marketing expense:

Advertising and marketing costs are expensed as incurred. Advertising and marketing expense for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 and the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022, and 2023 amounted to $1,781 (unaudited), $1,698, $1,185, $1,130, and $2,300, respectively.

[T] Foreign currency:

The Company’s reporting currency is the U.S dollar (“USD”). For businesses where the majority of the revenues are generated in USD and a substantial portion of the costs are incurred in USD, the Company’s management believes that the USD is the primary currency of the economic environment and thus their functional currency. Due to the fact that Argentina has been determined to be highly inflationary, the financial statements of our subsidiary in Argentina have been remeasured as if its functional currency was the USD. The Company also has foreign operations where the functional currency is the local currency. For these operations, assets and liabilities are translated using the end-of-period exchange rates and revenues, expenses and cash flows are translated using average rates of exchange for the period. Equity is translated at the rate of exchange at the date of the equity transaction. Translation adjustments are recognized in stockholders’ equity as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

Foreign currency transaction gains and losses related to operational expenses denominated in a currency other than the functional currency are included in determining net income or loss. Foreign currency transaction gains (losses) for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 and the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022, and 2023 of $176 (unaudited), $(193), $(128), $(847), and $277, respectively, are included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. Foreign currency transaction gains related to long-term debt of $544 (unaudited), $151, $810, $2,689, and $591, for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2024 and the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively, are included in interest expense in the Consolidated Statement of Operations.

[U] Commitments and contingencies:

From time to time, the Company is involved in various litigation matters involving claims incidental to its business and acquisitions, including employment matters, acquisition related claims, patent infringement and contractual matters, among other issues. While the outcome of any such litigation matters cannot be predicted with certainty, management currently believes that the outcome of these proceedings, including the matters described below, either individually or in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on its business, results of operations or financial condition. The Company records reserves related to legal matters when losses related to such litigation or contingencies are both probable and reasonably estimable.

[V] Recently issued accounting pronouncements:

In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2023-07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures” (“ASU 2023-07”), which requires additional operating segment disclosures in annual and interim consolidated financial statements. ASU 2023-07 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2023 and for interim periods beginning after December 15, 2024 on a retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the effect of adopting ASU 2023-07.

In December 2023, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2023-09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures” (“ASU 2023-09”), which requires disclosure of disaggregated income taxes paid, prescribes standard categories for the components of the effective tax rate reconciliation and modifies other income tax-related disclosures. ASU 2023-09 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024 on a retrospective or prospective basis. The Company is evaluating the effect of adopting ASU 2023-09.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326) Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which amends the guidance on measuring credit losses on financial assets held at amortized cost. The amendment is intended to address the issue that the previous “incurred loss” methodology was restrictive for an entity’s ability to record credit losses based on not yet meeting the “probable” threshold. The new language will require these assets to be valued at amortized cost presented at the net amount expected to be collected with a valuation provision. This updated standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022. The Company adopted ASU No. 2016-13 on January 1, 2023. The adoption of the standard did not result in a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

[W] Business Combinations

In accordance with ASC 805, Business Combinations (ASC 805), the Company recognizes the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values. Determining these fair values requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially with respect to intangible assets.

The Company recognizes identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their acquisition date fair value. During the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, the Company records adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill or bargain purchase to the extent that it identifies adjustments to the preliminary fair values. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the values of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to the consolidated statements of operations.

[X] Segment Information:

The Company has a single operating and reportable segment. The Company’s chief operating decision maker is its Chief Executive Officer, who reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis for purposes of making operating decisions, assessing financial performance, and allocating resources. The Company derives its revenue from the sale of systems and products and from customer SaaS and hosting infrastructure fees (see Note 16 – Segment Information).

[Y] Reclassifications:

Certain prior amounts have been reclassified to conform with the current year presentation for comparative purposes. These reclassifications had no effect on the previously reported results of operations.