definiens: ( as defined in R ule 13a-15(f ) of the Exchange Act ) that has been de signed by, or under the supervision of, the Company ’s principa l executive and principal financial officers, or pe rsons performing similar functions, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial r eporting and the preparation of financial statements for externa l purposes in accordance with GAAP, including, but not limited to, internal accounting controls sufficient to pro vide reasonable assurance that : ( i ) transactions ar e executed in accordance with management ’s general or specific au thorizations ; ( ii ) transactions are recorded as nec essary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accou ntability ; ( iii ) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management ’s general or specific authorization and any unauthorized access that could have a mate rial effect on the Company ’s financial statements is timely det ected ; and ( iv ) the recorded accountability for ass ets is compared with existing assets at reasonable interva ls and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences