Company: EQS
Filing Date: 2025-04-10
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001712543-25-000016
Chunk: 55

Company: EQUUS TOTAL RETURN, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-04-10
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 9
Chunk 55
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Item 9A. Controls andProcedures

Attached as exhibits
to this Form 10-K are certifications of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), which are required in accordance
with Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act”). This section includes information
concerning the controls and controls evaluation referred to in those certifications and should be read in conjunction with the certifications
for a more complete understanding of the topics presented.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls andProcedures

We maintain
disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed pursuant
to the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange
Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure based on the definition of
“disclosure controls and procedures” as promulgated under the Exchange Act. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls
and procedures, management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable
assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the
cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Our management,
with the participation of our Fund’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, have evaluated the effectiveness of the
design and operations of the Fund’s “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934) as of December 31, 2024. Based on their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded
that the Fund’s disclosure controls and procedures were not effective due to the material weaknesses in internal control over financial
reporting described below.

Report of Management on Internal Control Over FinancialReporting

Management is responsible
for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, and for performing an assessment of the effectiveness
of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed
to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external
purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Fund’s internal control over financial reporting includes,
among others, those policies and procedures that pertain to assets