attributable to a decrease in salaries and wages due to the attrition of two full time positions, and decreases in other sales related overhead costs compared to the prior year partially offset by an increase in stock-based compensation expense.
General and Administrative Expenses
For the year ended December 31, 2015, general and administrative expenses were $2,175,000, an increase of $432,000, or 25%, from general and administrative expenses of $1,743,000 in the prior year. The increase was attributable to an increase in salaries and related costs, including stock option compensation and hiring expense, due to the addition of one accounting position compared to the prior year, and professional service fees associated with the Company’s public offering of common stock.
Other Income (Expense), Net
Other income/expense, net, was an expense of $3,000, a decrease of $53,000, or 106%, compared to income of $50,000 in the prior year. The decrease was primarily due to the sale of one of the Company’s unused trademarks to a third party in the third quarter of 2014.
Interest Expense
For the year ended December 31, 2015, related party interest expense was $31,000, an increase of $31,000 compared to related party interest expense of $0 in the prior year. The increase was primarily due to short-term borrowings in November and December of 2015. For the year ended December 31, 2015, other party interest expense was $23,000, a decrease of $236,000, or 91%, compared to other party interest expense of $259,000 in the prior year. The decrease in other party interest expense resulted from expensing the valuation of the warrants issued to third parties in connection with the closing of a $2,000,000 credit facility in May 2014.
For the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company recorded $53,000 in debt discount amortization associated with short-term borrowings, $11,000 of which was attributable to a related party and $42,000 was attributable to other investors. There was no debt discount amortization in the prior year.
For the year ended December 31, 2015, the change in fair value of derivative liabilities resulted in a non-cash gain of $18,000, an increase of $11,000, or 157%, compared to a gain of $7,000 in the prior year. The change in fair value was primarily due to the expiration of the related derivatives in November of 2015.
For the year ended December 31, 2015, accretion of the beneficial conversion feature on the Company’s Preferred Stock with an exercise price less than the closing market price on December 31, 2015 (Series C Participating Convertible Preferred Stock and Series D-1 Convertible Preferred Stock) was $526,000, a decrease of $126,000, or 19%, compared to $652,000 in the prior year period. The decrease was due to the decrease in the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of issue compared to the prior year.
The Company recorded dividends in kind on shares of its Series A-1 Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, Series B Participating Convertible Preferred Stock, Series C Participating Convertible Preferred Stock and Series D Preferred Stock. For the year ended December 31, 2015, dividends on shares of Preferred Stock were $3,176,000, an increase of $464,000, or 17%, compared to $2,712,000 in the prior year period. The increase was primarily due to the issuances of shares of Series D Preferred Stock in 2015 and 2014.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our principal needs for liquidity have been to fund operating losses, working capital requirements and research and development. For the year ended December 31, 2015, we funded our operations with $1,268,000 from the issuance of short-term debt and $1,525,000 in net proceeds from the issuance of Series D-1 Convertible Preferred Stock. Our principal source of liquidity as of December 31, 2015 consisted of cash and cash equivalents of approximately $846,000. As of May 6, 2016, we had cash and cash equivalents of $35,886.
In November and December 2015, we consummated a debt financing and sold unsecured convertible promissory notes due August 25, 2016 in the aggregate principal amount of $1,268,000.
We have incurred net losses in each fiscal year since our inception except for the year ended December 31, 2004. From inception, we have financed our operations and met our capital expenditure requirements primarily from the net proceeds of private and public sales of debt and equity securities. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the net proceeds of such financings totaling $2,793,000. For the year ended December 31, 2014, the net proceeds of such financings totaling $2,259,000.