Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies) |
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| Accounting Policies [Abstract] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Basis of Presentation |
Basis of Presentation - The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP.
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| Use of Estimates |
Use of Estimates – The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future intervening events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from estimates.
Significant estimates underlying the financial statements include: the fair value of acquired assets and liabilities associated with acquisitions, the assessment of goodwill for impairment, intangible assets and long-lived assets for impairment, allowances for doubtful accounts and assumptions related to the valuation allowances on deferred taxes, impact of applying the revised federal tax rates on deferred taxes, the valuation of stock-based compensation and the valuation of stock warrants.
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| Principles of Consolidation |
Principles of Consolidation - The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, its wholly-owned subsidiaries, and non-wholly-owned subsidiaries that require consolidation per GAAP. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
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| Cash Equivalents |
Cash Equivalents - The Company considers cash equivalents to include all short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and have original maturities of three months or less.
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| Accounts Receivable |
Accounts Receivable - Accounts receivable represent receivables generated from fees earned from customers and advertising revenue. The Company’s policy is to reserve for uncollectible accounts based on its best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in its existing accounts receivable. The Company periodically reviews its accounts receivable to determine whether an allowance for credit losses is necessary based on an analysis of past due accounts and other factors that may indicate that the realization of an account may be in doubt.
Our estimate of the required allowance for credit losses is based on:
Account balances deemed to be uncollectible are charged to the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. Write offs are recognized as a deduction from the allowance for credit losses. Amounts previously written off that are expected to be recovered are included in the determination of the allowance for credit losses to the extent that these expected recoveries do not exceed the aggregate of amounts previously written off. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the allowance for credit losses was approximately $98,000 and $103,000, respectively.
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| Other Receivables |
Other Receivables – Other receivables represents amounts that are owed to the Company that are not considered trade receivables. The Company periodically reviews its other receivables for credit risk to determine whether an allowance is necessary and other factors that may indicate that the realization of an account may be in doubt. Account balances deemed to be uncollectible are charged to the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the balance in other receivables as reported on the consolidated balance sheets was deemed collectible.
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| Property and Equipment |
Property and Equipment - Property and equipment is stated at cost, including any cost to place the property into service, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is recorded on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets which currently range from three to five years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of their estimated useful lives or the term of the lease. Maintenance, repairs and minor replacements are charged to operations as incurred; major replacements and betterments are capitalized. The cost of any assets sold or retired and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts at the time of disposition, and any resulting profit or loss is reflected in income or expense for the period. Depreciation expense during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 was approximately $9,000 and $7,000 and for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 was approximately $4,000 and $2,000 and is recorded in depreciation and amortization expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
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| Lease Obligations |
Lease Obligations - The Company leases office space and equipment under various operating lease agreements, including an office for its corporate headquarters, as well as office spaces for its events business, sales and administrative offices under non-cancelable lease arrangements that provide for payments on a graduated basis with various expiration dates.
The Company leases its corporate headquarters. The office lease is for 4,902 square feet of office space and the lease term is for 84 months, commencing on October 1, 2020. Interest is the lessor of (i) 4 percent per annum above the then-current Base Rate, and (ii) the maximum rate permitted by applicable requirements as defined in the lease agreement.
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| Capitalized Technology Costs |
Capitalized Technology Costs - In accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350-40, Internal-Use Software, the Company capitalizes certain external and internal computer software costs incurred during the application development stage. The application development stage generally includes software design and configuration, coding, testing and installation activities. Training and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred, while upgrades and enhancements are capitalized if it is probable that such expenditures will result in additional functionality. Capitalized software costs are amortized over the estimated useful lives of the software assets on a straight-line basis, generally not exceeding three years.
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| Business Combinations |
Business Combinations - ASC 805, Business Combinations (“ASC 805”), applies the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations to all acquisitions where the acquirer gains a controlling interest, regardless of whether consideration was exchanged. ASC 805 establishes principles and requirements for how the acquirer: a) recognizes and measures in its financial statements the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any non-controlling interest in the acquiree; b) recognizes and measures the goodwill acquired in the business combination or a gain from a bargain purchase; and c) determines what information to disclose to enable users of the financial statements to evaluate the nature and financial effects of the business combination. Accounting for acquisitions requires the Company to recognize, separately from goodwill, the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at their acquisition-date fair values. Goodwill as of the acquisition date is measured as the excess of consideration transferred and the net of the acquisition-date fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. While the Company uses its best estimates and assumptions to accurately value assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date, the estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. As a result, during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, the Company may record adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the values of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to the interim consolidated statements of operations. (See Note 4 – Business Combinations.)
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| Goodwill and Intangible Assets |
Goodwill and Intangible Assets - The Company accounts for goodwill and intangible assets in accordance with ASC 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (“ASC 350”). ASC 350 requires that goodwill and other intangibles with indefinite lives should be tested for impairment annually or on an interim basis if events or circumstances indicate that the fair value of an asset has decreased below its carrying value.
Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level on an annual basis (December 31 for the Company) and between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. The Company considers its market capitalization and the carrying value of its assets and liabilities, including goodwill, when performing its goodwill impairment test.
When conducting its annual goodwill impairment assessment, the Company initially performs a qualitative evaluation of whether it is more likely than not that goodwill is impaired. If it is determined by a qualitative evaluation that it is more likely than not that goodwill is impaired, the Company then compares the fair value of the Company’s reporting unit to its carrying or book value. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, goodwill is not impaired and the Company is not required to perform further testing. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the Company will measure any goodwill impairment losses as the amount by which the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.
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| Treasury Stock |
Treasury Stock – Treasury stock is recorded at cost as a reduction of stockholders’ equity in the accompanying balance sheets.
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| Revenue Recognition |
Revenue Recognition – Revenue is recognized when all of the following conditions exist: (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (2) services are performed, (3) the sales price is fixed or determinable, and (4) collectability is reasonably assured. (See Note 5 – Revenue Recognition.)
Deferred revenue includes customer payments which are received prior to performing services and revenues are recognized upon the completion of these services. Annual membership fees collected at the time of enrollment are recognized as revenue ratably over the membership period, which are typically for a 12-month membership period.
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| Discontinued Operations |
Discontinued Operations
China Operations
The Company previously disclosed in its Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2019 (the “2019 10-K”) and subsequently that the assets of PDN China were frozen by Chinese local authorities in November 2019 in connection with the criminal investigation of alleged illegal public fund raising by Gatewang Group (the “Gatewang Case”), a separate company organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China (“Gatewang”), with which Mr. Maoji (Michael) Wang, the former Chairman and CEO of the Company was affiliated. A subsequent investigation led by a special committee of the Board concluded that it did not find any evidence that the Company or PDN China had engaged in the criminal activity of illegal fund-raising as alleged against Gatewang. The Company subsequently discontinued all of its operations in China.
The Company also previously disclosed in the 2019 Form 10-K that the seizure of PDN China’s assets had been lifted in March 2020. However, on April 22, 2021, the Company learned that RMB 18,841,064.15 (approximately $2.9 million) had been seized from the PDN China Account by Longxu District Court of Wuzhou City in Guangxi Province to satisfy a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in the Gatewang Case. On April 26, 2021, the Company concluded that the seizure of such cash assets was a material reduction of Company assets and was reflected in its consolidated balance sheets subsequent to the occurrence.
The Company has asserted its claim to these funds as the genuine owner to the Chinese officials and asked for their return. The Company plans to pursue all possible legal alternatives to have these funds returned to the Company but such return is uncertain at this time.
All historical operating results for the Company’s China operations are included in a loss from discontinued operations, net of tax, in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. For the three and nine months September 30, 2023, loss from discontinued operations was approximately $11,000 and $28,000 as compared to a loss from discontinued operations of approximately $13,000 and $42,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022.
Assets and liabilities of China operations are included in current assets and long-term assets from discontinued operations, and current liabilities and long-term liabilities from discontinued operations. Current assets from discontinued operations were $4,600, as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, and long-term assets from discontinued operations were approximately $197,000 at September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022. As of September 30, 2023, current liabilities from discontinued operations were approximately $509,000, compared to $503,000 as of December 31, 2022.
Operating Results of Discontinued Operations
The following table represents the components of operating results from discontinued operations, which are included in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, net of intercompany eliminations:
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| Advertising and Marketing Expenses |
Advertising and Marketing Expenses – Advertising and marketing expenses are expensed as incurred or the first time the advertising takes place. The production costs of advertising are expensed the first time the advertising takes place. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, the Company incurred advertising and marketing expenses of approximately $242,000 and $866,000. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company incurred advertising and marketing expenses of approximately $347,000 and $862,000. These amounts are included in sales and marketing expenses in the accompanying statements of operations. At September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, there were no prepaid advertising expenses recorded in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
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| Concentrations of Credit Risk |
Concentrations of Credit Risk - Financial instruments, which potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk, consist principally of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Company places its cash with high credit quality institutions. At times, such amounts may be in excess of the FDIC insurance limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes that it is not exposed to any significant credit risk on the account.
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| Income Taxes |
Income Taxes - The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with ASC 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”), which requires that the Company recognize deferred tax liabilities and assets based on the differences between the financial statement basis and tax basis of assets and liabilities, using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Company estimates the degree to which tax assets and credit carryforwards will result in a benefit based on expected profitability by tax jurisdiction. A valuation allowance for such tax assets and loss carryforwards is provided when it is determined to be more likely than not that the benefit of such deferred tax asset will not be realized in future periods. If it becomes more likely than not that a tax asset will be used, the related valuation allowance on such assets would be reduced.
ASC 740 clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements in accordance with ASC 740-20 and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were $122,229 of deferred tax liabilities, as of September 30, 2023, recorded in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets . The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.
The Company may be subject to potential income tax examinations by federal or state authorities. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with federal and state tax laws. Management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months. Tax years that remain open for assessment for federal and state tax purposes include the years ended December 31, 2019 through 2022.
The Company’s policy for recording interest and penalties associated with audits is to record such expense as a component of income tax expense. There were no amounts accrued for penalties or interest as of September 30, 2023.
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| Fair Value of Financial Assets and Liabilities |
Fair Value of Financial Assets and Liabilities - Financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and accounts payable, are carried at cost. Management believes that the recorded amounts approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of these instruments.
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| Net Loss per Share |
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| Reclassifications |
Reclassifications - Certain prior year amounts in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.
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| Recent Accounting Pronouncements |
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. The main objective of this update is to provide financial statement users with more decision-useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit held by a reporting entity at each reporting date. To achieve this objective, the amendments in this update replace the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. For public business entities that are SEC filers that are Smaller Reporting Companies, the amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after January 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted ASU 2022-02 on a prospective basis effective January 1, 2023, and concluded there is no material impact to the consolidated financial statements or disclosures through the third quarter of 2023. |
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