FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2016-141
Washington D.C., July 13, 2016 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to propose amendments to eliminate redundant, overlapping, outdated, or superseded provisions, in light of subsequent changes to Commission disclosure requirements, U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and technology.
The Commission is also soliciting comment on certain disclosure requirements that overlap with U.S. GAAP to determine whether to retain, modify, eliminate or refer them to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) for potential incorporation into U.S. GAAP.
The amendments, along with the input received on the Regulation S-K concept release, are designed to further inform the Commission's actions to enhance disclosure.
"The proposed amendments address outdated and redundant disclosure requirements while continuing to require companies to provide investors with what they need to make informed decisions," said SEC Chair Mary Jo White. "We are keenly interested in investors' views on all aspects of the proposal and look forward to receiving their input as we continue to consider changes and enhancements to our disclosure requirements."
The proposing release is part of the disclosure effectiveness review, which is a broad-based staff review of the requirements, and the presentation and delivery of disclosures that companies make to investors. The proposal is also part of the Commission's work to implement the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which, among other things, requires the Commission to eliminate provisions of Regulation S-K that are duplicative, overlapping, outdated, or unnecessary.
The public comment period will remain open for 60 days following publication of the proposing release in the Federal Register.
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FACT SHEET
Disclosure Update and Simplification
SEC Open Meeting
July 13, 2016
Action
The Commission will consider whether to propose amendments to update and simplify certain disclosure requirements by eliminating redundant, overlapping, outdated and superseded requirements due to changes in disclosure rules, accounting principles, and technology. The Commission also will consider issuing a related request for comment on whether other requirements should be modified, eliminated, or included in U.S. Generally Accepting Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP).
The proposal under consideration arises out of the staff's work on the disclosure effectiveness review, which is intended to update and modernize the Commission's disclosure requirements for the benefit of investors and companies. The proposal also would implement certain provisions of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.
Highlights
The proposal would be primarily applicable to public companies (including foreign private issuers), but also would involve requirements applicable to other entities the Commission regulates, including Regulation A issuers, investment advisers, investment companies, broker-dealers, and nationally recognized statistical rating organizations.
The proposing release covers:
Background
The proposal is the result of the staff's work on the disclosure effectiveness review, which is a comprehensive evaluation of the Commission's disclosure requirements with the objective of improving the disclosure regime for both investors and companies.
The work is focused on considering the type of information the rules require issuers to disclose, how the information is presented, where and how the information is disclosed, and how technology can be leveraged for improving disclosure to investors' access to the information.
The Commission has issued several releases in connection with the disclosure effectiveness review. The Commission is seeking public comment on modernizing certain business and financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K and on proposed amendments to its disclosure requirements for registrants involved in mining activities. The Commission also requested comment on financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-X for certain entities other than the issuer.
What's Next?
The Commission will seek public comment on the proposed rules for 60 days.