Books and Records; Access The Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, keep proper books, records and accounts, in which full and correct entries shall be made of all financial transactions and the assets and business of the Company and each of its Subsidiaries in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. For so long as the Sterling Entities beneficially own 5% or more of the Company’s then outstanding voting securities, the Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, permit the Sterling Entities and their respective designated representatives, at reasonable times and upon reasonable prior notice to the Company, to review the books and records of the Company or any of such Subsidiaries and to discuss the affairs, finances and condition of the Company or any of such Subsidiaries with the officers of the Company or any such Subsidiary. For so long as the Sterling Entities beneficially own 5% or more of the Company’s then outstanding voting securities, the Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, provide the Sterling Entities, in addition to other information that might be reasonably requested by the Sterling Entities from time to time, (i) direct access to the Company’s auditors and officers, (ii) the ability to link Sterling Partners’ systems into the Company’s general ledger and other systems in order to enable the Sterling Entities to retrieve data on a “real-time” basis, (iii) quarter-end reports, in a format to be prescribed by the Sterling Entities, to be provided within 30 days after the end of each quarter, (iv) copies of all materials provided to the Board (or equivalent governing body) at the same time as provided to the Directors (or their equivalent), (v) access to appropriate officers and Directors of the Company at such times as may be requested by the Sterling Entities, as the case may be, for consultation with each of the Sterling Entities with respect to matters relating to the business and affairs of the Company and its Subsidiaries, (vi) information in advance with respect to any significant corporate actions, including, without limitation, extraordinary dividends, mergers, acquisitions or dispositions of assets, issuances of significant amounts of debt or equity and material amendments to the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, and to provide the Sterling Entities, with the right to consult with the Company and its Subsidiaries with respect to such actions, (vii) flash data, in a format to be prescribed by the Sterling Entities, to be provided within ten days after the end of each quarter and (viii) to the extent otherwise prepared by the Company, operating and capital expenditure budgets and periodic information packages relating to the operations and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries (all such information so furnished pursuant to this Section 3.1, the “Information”). The Company agrees to consider, in good faith, the recommendations of the Sterling Entities in connection with the matters on which the Company is consulted as described above. Subject to Section 3.2, any Sterling Entity (and any party receiving Information from a Sterling Entity) who shall receive Information shall maintain the confidentiality of such Information, and the Company shall not be required to disclose any privileged Information of the Company so long as the Company has used its commercially reasonable efforts to enter into an arrangement pursuant to which it may provide such information to the Sterling Entities without the loss of any such privilege.
