describing all relationships between the independent auditor and the Company, including the disclosures required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the independent auditor’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence. In addition, the Audit Committee discussed with the independent auditor its independence from the Company.
The Audit Committee reviewed the audit andnon-audit fees paid to Deloitte Certified Public Accountants S.A. and also considered whethernon-audit services performed by Deloitte Certified Public Accountants S.A., were compatible with maintaining the auditor’s independence.
In performing all of these functions, the Audit Committee acts only in an oversight capacity and necessarily relies on the work and assurances of the Company’s management and independent auditors, which, in their report, express an opinion on the conformity of the Company’s annual financial statements to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
Based upon the Audit Committee’s discussions with the Company’s management and Deloitte Certified Public Accountants S.A. and the Audit Committee’s review of the representations of the Company’s management and the report of the independent accountants to the Audit Committee, the Audit Committee recommended that the Board include the audited consolidated financial statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form20-F for the year ended December 31, 2017 when filed with the SEC. The Audit Committee also approved, subject to stockholder ratification, the selection of Deloitte Certified Public Accountants S.A. as the Company’s independent auditors.
Audit Committee
Markos Drakos, Chairman
Michael G. Jolliffe
John Kostoyannis
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Reports
Copies of the Company’s Annual Report on Form20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, as filed with the SEC, are available to stockholders free of charge on the Company’s website at www.stealthgas.com under the heading “InvestorRelations-SEC Filings” or www.proxyvote.com or by writing to the attention of Harry Vafias, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, StealthGas Inc. at 331 Kifissias Avenue, Erithrea 14561 Athens, Greece.
General
The enclosed proxy is solicited on behalf of the Company’s Board of Directors. Unless otherwise directed, proxies held by Harry N. Vafias, our President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, or Ifigeneia (Fenia) Sakellari, our finance officer, will be voted at the 2018 Annual Meeting or any adjournments or postponements thereof FOR the election of each of the director nominees to the Board named on the proxy card or voting instruction form and FOR the ratification of the appointment of the independent auditors. If any matter other than those described in this Proxy Statement properly comes before the 2018 Annual Meeting, or with respect to any adjournments or postponements thereof, the proxies will vote the shares of common stock represented by such proxies in accordance with their best judgment.
Please vote all of your shares. Beneficial stockholders sharing an address who are receiving multiple copies of the proxy materials and Annual Report to Stockholders should contact their broker, bank or other nominee to request that in the future only a single copy of each document be mailed to all stockholders at the shared address. In addition, if you are the beneficial owner, but not the record holder, of shares of common stock, your broker, bank or other nominee may deliver only one copy of the Proxy Statement and Annual Report to Stockholders to
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