Business First Bancshares Inc

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, including our principal chief executive officer and principal financial officer have conducted an evaluation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) as of March 31, 2025. The Company had previously reported a material weakness involving the design and operation of a third party service provider's information technology general controls (“ITGCs”) around change management segregation of duties with respect to certain information technology (“IT”) systems that support our financial reporting process, which was described in Item 9A in the Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. .

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Remediation of Material Weakness

Remediation steps have been taken and implemented to address the material weakness described above through i.) an independent audit firm performing agreed upon procedures (AUP) testing and confirming the segregation of duty control had been appropriately remediated during the first quarter of 2025, and ii) by the Company monitoring the third-party service provider's system during the first quarter of 2025 to ensure no changes occurred regarding the area of the system in which the material weakness occurred. The Company plans to convert to a new core system during the second quarter of 2025. While significant progress has been made to reduce the risk relating to the material weakness, additional time may be required to assess and ensure the sustainability of these processes and procedures by the third-party service provider. The remediation steps that have been taken and implemented are subject to ongoing oversight by management and review by the Audit Committee.

Changes in Internal Controls over Financial Reporting

Except as described above under “Remediation of Material Weakness”, there were no other changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the three months ended March 31, 2025, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.