(8) COVID-19
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19” or “virus”) as a global pandemic. The full impact of COVID-19 is unknown and rapidly evolving. The outbreak and any preventative or protective actions that the Company or its customers may take in respect of this virus may result in a period of disruption, including the Company’s financial reporting capabilities, its operations generally and could potentially impact the Company’s customers, data providers and other third parties. Any resulting financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time, but may materially affect the business and the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. The extent to which the COVID-19 impacts the Company’s results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain the virus or treat its impact, among others. The Company has been operating remotely without any significant disruption of operations. To date, the Company’s data providers have provided an uninterrupted stream of information thus enabling the Company to deliver its product. The Company is currently evaluating the impact, if any, on its financial statements and has not yet quantified what material impacts to the financial statements may result from the actions taken by the Company and its customers in respect of this virus.
In response to COVID-19, President Donald Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act provides numerous tax provisions and other stimulus measures, including temporary changes regarding the prior and future utilization of net operating losses, temporary changes to the prior and future limitations on interest deductions, temporary suspension of certain payment requirements for the employer portion of Social Security taxes, technical corrections from prior tax legislation for tax depreciation of certain qualified improvement property, and the creation of certain refundable employee retention credits. Additionally, the CARES Act contains relief for small businesses through several new temporary programs, one of which is the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The PPP is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent or utilities. The Company applied for a loan under this program and has received $1.56 million. The SBA provides a “safe harbor” for borrowers and has deemed certifications regarding the necessity of the loan to have been made in good faith for borrowers of less than $2 million. The PPP loan is scheduled to mature on April 15, 2022, has a 1.00% interest rate, may be prepaid at any time without penalty and is subject to the terms and conditions applicable to all loans made pursuant to the PPP as administered by the SBA under the CARES Act. The loan and accrued interest is forgivable after eight weeks so long as the Company uses the loan proceeds for eligible purposes, including payroll, benefits, rent and utilities, and maintains its payroll levels. No payments are due on this loan for 6 months from the date of first disbursement of this loan. In accordance with the requirements for forgiveness of the CARES Act, the Company has used the entire proceeds from the PPP Loan for eligible payroll, benefits, rent, utility costs, and maintained its employment levels. If the Company does not apply for forgiveness, the current portion of this loan, including interest, that is due within the next 12 months is $920,934.