Company: FRME
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000712534-25-000058
Chunk: 148

Company: FIRST MERCHANTS CORP
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 9A
Chunk 148
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ITEM 9A.  CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

At the end of the period covered by this report (the “Evaluation Date”), the Corporation carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of the Corporation’s management, including the Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of its disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”).  Based upon that evaluation, the Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of the Evaluation Date, the Corporation’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective.  Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Corporation’s reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act are recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms.

MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Management of First Merchants Corporation (the “Corporation”) is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  The Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance to the Corporation’s management and Board of Directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements.  As part of its function of assisting the Corporation’s Board of Directors in discharging its responsibility of ensuring financial reporting and regulatory risks to the organization are properly being managed, mitigated and monitored by Management, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors oversees management’s internal controls over financial reporting.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Accordingly, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.

Management assessed the effectiveness of the Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024.  In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth in “Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013)” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) of the Treadway Commission.  Based on this assessment, management has determined that the Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024 is effective based on the specified criteria. 

There have been no changes in the Corporation’s internal controls over financial reporting identified in