The approved amendments are part of an initiative by the Division of Corporation Finance to review disclosure requirements applicable to issuers and develop methods of improving said requirements for the benefit of investors and issuers alike. In addition, the amendments further the Commission’s goal of implementing the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which mandates that the SEC eliminate provisions of Regulation S-K that are duplicative, overlapping, outdated, or unnecessary.

Included in the approved changes:

• Eliminating certain redundant and duplicative requirements. These requirements would require substantially similar disclosure to US-GAAP, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), or other SEC requirements.
• Eliminating overlapping requirements, which are related to GAAP, IFRS, or other SEC requirements.
• Eliminating outdated requirements that have become obsolete as a result of time passing or changes in the financial environment.
• Eliminating superseded or inconsistent requirements.

These amendments apply primarily to public reporting companies (including foreign issuers). In addition, some of the amendments may apply to Regulation A entities, investment advisers, investment companies, broker-dealers, and statistical rating organizations, among other entities regulated by the SEC. The changes will become effective thirty days after publication in the Federal Register.

Sources:

SEC Adopts Amendments to Simplify and Update Disclosure Requirements (www.sec.gov)
Disclosure Update and Simplification (www.sec.gov)