Company: SPRB
Filing Date: 2025-04-18
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0000950170-25-055856
Chunk: 23

Company: SPRUCE BIOSCIENCES, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-04-18
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 23
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 of the audit with the independent registered public accounting firm, and reviewing, with management and the independent accountants, our interim and year-end operating results;

developing procedures for employees to submit concerns anonymously about questionable accounting or audit matters;

reviewing related person transactions;

reporting to the Board with respect to material issues that arise regarding the quality or integrity of our financial statements, our compliance with applicable legal or regulatory requirements and other matters; and

approving, or, as permitted, pre-approving, audit and permissible non-audit services to be performed by the independent registered public accounting firm.

The Audit Committee is composed of three directors: Mr. Spiegelman, Mr. Barretto-Ko, and Ms. Simpson. Ms. Simpson succeeded Dr. O’Donnell, who served on the Audit Committee until his resignation from the Board on May 22, 2024. The Audit Committee met five times during the fiscal year. The Board has adopted a written Audit Committee charter that is available to stockholders on the Company’s website at www.sprucebio.com. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Proxy Statement or our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 (the “Annual Report”).

The Board reviews the Nasdaq listing rules definition of independence for Audit Committee members on an annual basis and has determined that all members of the Audit Committee are independent (as independence is currently defined in Rule 5605(c)(2)(A)(i) and (ii) of the Nasdaq listing rules).

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The Board has also determined that Mr. Spiegelman qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined in applicable SEC rules. In making this determination, the Board made a qualitative assessment of Mr. Spiegelman’s level of knowledge and experience based on a number of factors, including his formal education and experience as a chief financial officer.

Report of the Audit Committee of the Board*

The Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 with management of the Company. The Audit Committee has discussed with the independent registered public accounting firm the matters required to be discussed by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) and the SEC. The Audit Committee has also received the written disclosures and the letter from the independent registered public accounting firm required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding the independent accountants’ communications with the