Company: AWRE
Filing Date: 2025-04-25
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000950170-25-058702
Chunk: 9

Company: AWARE INC /MA/
Filing Date: 2025-04-25
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 9
---
 appropriate questions from stockholders.

Our board of directors recommends that you vote “FOR” the ratification of the selection of RSM US LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.

<div align='center'>7</div>

#### Corporate

#### Governance
In designing our corporate governance structure, we seek to identify and implement the best practices that will serve the interests of our business and stockholders, including practices mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nasdaq Stock Market. You can find our current corporate governance principles, including our code of ethics and the charters for the standing committees of our board of directors, on our website atwww.aware.com. The code of ethics applies to not only our principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer, but also all of our other employees, executive officers and directors. The code of ethics includes, among other things, provisions covering compliance with laws and regulations, conflicts of interest, insider trading, proper use of our assets, confidentiality, discrimination and harassment, accounting and record keeping, the reporting of illegal or unethical behavior, enforcement of the code of ethics and discipline for violations of the code of ethics. We have also adopted a policy that forbids our officers, directors and employees to engage in short-term or other speculative trading, such as short sales, option sales or purchases, or other derivatives trading or hedging transactions in our securities. We intend to continue to modify our policies and practices to address ongoing developments in the area of corporate governance. Many features of our corporate governance principles are discussed in other sections of this proxy statement. Some of the highlights of our corporate governance principles are:

Director and committee independence. A majority of our directors are independent directors under the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market. The board of directors has determined that our independent directors are Brian D. Connolly, Gary Evee, Peter R. Faubert, Brent P. Johnstone, and John S. Stafford, III. Each member of the audit committee, nominating and corporate governance committee, and compensation committee meets the independence requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market for membership on the committees on which he serves.

Audit committee. Our audit committee is directly responsible for appointing, compensating, overseeing, and, when necessary, terminating the engagement of independent auditors. Our independent auditors report directly to the audit committee. The board of directors has determined that Mr. Faubert