Washington, D.C., July 31, 2003 — The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that it will host its annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation on Sept. 22 and 23, 2003, at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va. The SEC has hosted the forum annually for 22 years under the mandate of a 1980 statute. The forum offers an opportunity for representatives of smaller businesses to meet and communicate their views on small business capital formation to senior government officials.
This year's SEC forum will have a dual focus: the current state of capital formation for private and small cap companies, and the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation on smaller public companies.
Many leading experts in the field of small business capital formation will participate in the SEC forum this year. Among those committed to participate are Professor Jeffrey Sohl of the University of New Hampshire, who will address "angel capital" investing (the funding of business concepts by high net worth individuals); Doug Tatum, founder of Tatum CFO Partners, a financial leadership firm, who will speak about the reasons why growing companies fail; and Professor Michael Ames, Director of the Small Business Institute at California State University-Fullerton, whose recent research relates to providing small companies with better access to the capital needed for rapid growth.
In addition, several law firm partners who practice in the area of small business capital formation will be participating. Officials from the SEC and other federal agencies concerned with small business capital formation will also attend, speak and be available for questions.
During the two days of the forum, participants will meet in groups to develop recommendations for improving small business capital formation through legislation, regulation and private action. Over the years, many recommendations of previous SEC forums have resulted in legislative and regulatory reform.
Registration and other information on this year's forum, as well as copies of the final reports of previous SEC forums, are available by calling the SEC Office of Small Business Policy at (202) 942-2950 or visiting the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/info/smallbus/sbforum.shtml.