Company: NGVC
Filing Date: 2025-01-24
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001437749-25-001800
Chunk: 23

Company: Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-01-24
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 23
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 its oversight responsibilities over our financial reporting and internal control processes. The audit committee is responsible for, among other things:

| • | overseeing management’s maintenance of the reliability and integrity of our accounting policies and financial reporting and our disclosure practices; |

| • | overseeing management’s establishment and maintenance of processes to assure that an adequate system of internal control is functioning; |

| • | overseeing management’s establishment and maintenance of processes to assure our compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and corporate policies; |

| • | reviewing and approving related party transactions; |

| • | reviewing our annual and quarterly financial statements prior to their filing and prior to the release of earnings; |

| • | reviewing the performance of the independent registered public accounting firm and making decisions regarding the appointment or termination of the independent registered public accounting firm and considering and approving any non-audit services proposed to be performed by the independent registered public accounting firm; and |

| • | making recommendations to the Board with respect to the foregoing and other matters. |

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Ms. Buffa, Mr. Cerkovnik, and Mr. Rooney, each of whom is an independent director, currently serve on the audit committee, with Mr. Rooney serving as the chair of the audit committee. Prior to his resignation from the Board in October 2024, Mr. Hallé served on the audit committee. Mr. Rooney and Ms. Buffa have been determined to be audit committee financial experts, as such term is defined under applicable SEC rules. The audit committee has the power to investigate any matter brought to its attention within the scope of its duties and to retain counsel for this purpose where appropriate.

The audit committee met five times during fiscal 2024. During fiscal 2024, our audit committee held four executive sessions at which only non-management directors were present. Our Board has adopted an audit committee charter, which sets forth in detail the duties and responsibilities of the audit committee and is available on our corporate website at investors.naturalgrocers.com.

Report of the Audit Committee

The audit committee is responsible for overseeing our accounting and financial reporting functions. The audit committee relies on the expertise and knowledge of management and the Company’s independent auditors in carrying out its oversight responsibilities. Management is responsible for the Company’s financial reporting process, including its system of internal control, and for the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The independent auditors are responsible for auditing those financial statements, auditing our internal control over financial reporting and issuing reports there