Green Dot 2013 Annual Report Download - page 31

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financing but they are insufficient or unavailable, we would be required to modify our operating plans to take into account
the limitations of available funding, which would harm our ability to maintain or grow our business.
The occurrence of catastrophic events could damage our facilities or the facilities of third parties on which
we depend, which could force us to curtail our operations.
We and some of the third-party service providers on which we depend for various support functions, such as
customer service and card processing, are vulnerable to damage from catastrophic events, such as power loss, natural
disasters, terrorism and similar unforeseen events beyond our control. Our principal offices, for example, are situated
in the foothills of southern California near known earthquake fault zones and areas of elevated wild fire danger. If any
catastrophic event were to occur, our ability to operate our business could be seriously impaired. In addition, we might
not have adequate insurance to cover our losses resulting from catastrophic events or other significant business
interruptions. Any significant losses that are not recoverable under our insurance policies, as well as the damage to,
or interruption of, our infrastructure and processes, could seriously impair our business and financial condition.
If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial
statements on a timely basis could be impaired, which could result in a loss of investor confidence in our
financial reports and have an adverse effect on our stock price.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting
to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial
statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. If we
are unable to maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting, we might be unable to report our financial
information on a timely basis and might suffer adverse regulatory consequences or violate NYSE listing standards.
There could also be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the
reliability of our financial statements. We have in the past and may in the future discover areas of our internal financial
and accounting controls and procedures that need improvement. Our internal control over financial reporting will not
prevent or detect all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide
only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system will be met. Because of the inherent
limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and
instances of fraud, if any, within our company will be detected. If we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal
controls, we may not be able to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, which could adversely affect
our ability to operate our business and could result in regulatory action, and could require us to restate, our financial
statements. Any such restatement could result in a loss of public confidence in the reliability of our financial statements
and sanctions imposed on us by the SEC.
Changes in accounting standards or inaccurate estimates or assumptions in the application of accounting
policies could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and
results of operations. Some of these policies require use of estimates and assumptions that may affect the reported
value of our assets or liabilities and results of operations and are critical because they require management to make
difficult, subjective and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain. If those assumptions, estimates
or judgments were incorrectly made, we could be required to correct and restate prior period financial statements.
Accounting standard-setters and those who interpret the accounting standards (such as the Financial Accounting
Standards Board, the SEC, banking regulators and our independent registered public accounting firm) may also amend
or even reverse their previous interpretations or positions on how various standards should be applied. These changes
can be difficult to predict and can materially impact how we record and report our financial condition and results of
operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in the need
to revise and republish prior period financial statements.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common Stock
The price of our Class A common stock may be volatile.
In the recent past, stocks generally, and financial services company stocks in particular, have experienced high
levels of volatility. The trading price of our Class A common stock has been highly volatile since our initial public offering
and may continue to be subject to wide fluctuations. The trading price of our Class A common stock depends on a
number of factors, including those described in this “Risk Factors” section, many of which are beyond our control and
may not be related to our operating performance. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading price of our
Class A common stock include the following:
• price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time;