Electronic Filing Requirements
On November 4, 2021, in a unanimous vote, the SEC proposed two rules to:
- Require electronic filing of certain documents that are currently filed in paper, and
- Change selected filing to improve their readability.
You can read more about the proposals in this Fact Sheet. According to the related Press Release:
“The amendments are intended to promote efficiency, transparency, and operational resiliency by modernizing the manner in which information is submitted to the Commission and disclosed. Furthermore, publicly filed electronic submissions would be more readily accessible to the public and would be available on our website in easily searchable formats, which benefits both investors and the broader public.”
Among the changes proposed are:
- A company’s “glossy” annual report would have to be filed in pdf form. Current requirements are that the “glossy” annual report be available on a company’s webpage or furnished in paper form to the SEC.
- The financial statements and notes in Form 11-K would have to be tagged with Inline XBRL.
You can find the proposed rules here. Both will have a comment period of 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Filing Fee Disclosure and Payment Methods
On October 13, 2021, in a unanimous vote, the SEC adopted a Final Rule that modernizes filing fee disclosure and payment methods. According to the SEC’s Press Release:
“The amendments revise most fee-bearing forms, schedules, and related rules to require companies and funds to include all required information for filing fee calculation in a structured format. The amendments also add new options for Automated Clearing House (ACH) and debit and credit card payment of filing fees and eliminate infrequently used options for filing fee payment via paper checks and money orders.”
You can read more about the changes in this Fact Sheet. The new rules will generally be effective on January 31, 2022. Certain provisions have extended transition provisions.
As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome!
Any thoughts on whether the “glossy” report being filed would subject other portions of the annual report (CEO letter for example) to extra liability?
Great question Ryan! And this would not change any of the liability related to the “glossy” ARS as this would still be only “furnished” information! Thanks and shout if you want to discuss more.