On March 4, 2021, the SEC announced the formation of a Climate and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) Task Force in the Division of Enforcement to be led by Kelly L. Gibson, the Acting Deputy Director of Enforcement. Ms. Gibson will provide oversight to the Division-wide task force, which brings together a broad range of experience and knowledge from 22 members selected from the SEC’s headquarters, enforcement specialized units, and regional offices. Continue reading "SEC Announces New Task Force Focused on Climate..." »

On February 26, 2021, the SEC announced that under Section 31(j)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, it has concluded that a mid-year adjustment to the Section 31 fee rate is not required for fiscal year 2021. The amount of funding available to the SEC is not directly affected by these adjustments. Continue reading "Fee Rate Advisory #3 for Fiscal Year 2021" »

On February 24, the SEC announced that the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the organization that establishes financial accounting and reporting standards for public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations that follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), has published two proposed Taxonomy Implementation Guides. These guides are based on the 2021 US GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy, which is currently under consideration by the SEC. {expires: 2021-03-13}
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XBRL US will host a free webinar on March 10, 2021 to provide an update on the XBRL API that works with data in the Database of Public Filings. The event will begin at 3 p.m. and will be an hour in length. Webinar attendees will learn how to get started with the no-cost add-in for Microsoft Excel in M365 and Office 365 that was recently published called XBRL Filed Data. The remote meeting will also address other available XBRL API enhancements and resources. {expires: 2021-03-11} Continue reading "XBRL US to Host Webinar on Updates to the XBRL API" »

Version 5.6c of all applications in the GoFiler Suite has been released. This release contains a number of improvements to HTML and project validation, as well as XDX improvements pertaining to continuations. Additionally, new features were added to filter the RSS news feed and to set the time zone for GoFiler’s internal logs and proofs.

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On February 17, 2021, the SEC announced a virtual meeting of the Investor Advisory Committee that will take place on Thursday, March 11, 2021. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. ET and will be presented live via webcast for public viewing on sec.gov. Apart from the non-public administrative session, the meeting is open to the public and will also be archived on the Committee’s website for later viewing. The meeting will feature discussions regarding the following matters: (1) self-directed individual retirement accounts (IRAs); (2) special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs); (3) minority and underserved inclusion, and (4) credit rating agencies. {expires: 2021-03-12} Continue reading "SEC to Hold March 11 Virtual Investor Advisory..." »

The SEC will be closed Monday, February 15 in observance of President’s Day birthday. The EDGAR System will not receive, process or accept filings on this day. Filings with a due date of February 15 will be due the following business day, which is Tuesday, February 16. Continue reading "President’s Day" »

The SEC announced on February 9, 2021 that, after consulting with Division of Enforcement Acting Director Melissa Hodgman, SEC Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee has reinstated a critical tool to the enforcement program – the delegation of authority to the division’s senior officers.
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On February 4, 2021, the SEC published a request for public comment concerning potential reform measures to enhance the resilience of money market funds, which are utilized by both large institutions and individual retail investors and play a substantial role in short-term funding markets. This topic is given special attention in a report of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets published in December 2020. The SEC expects that comments received will help the agency and other relevant financial regulators in further analysis of potential reforms. Continue reading "SEC Seeks Comment on Potential Money Market..." »

On February 2, 2021, the SEC published “Administration of the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System” in the Federal Register as a result of rule changes previously approved. Rule 15 under Regulation S-T establishes measures the SEC may take in governing EDGAR and promoting the integrity and reliability of EDGAR submissions. The SEC adopted the new rule to provide transparency and further substantiate the system by which it expeditiously informs filers and other relevant individuals of its activities under the rule. Pursuant to Regulation S-T, the SEC also adopted amendments that authorize the Director of the agency’s EDGAR Business Office to take actions under the new rule and under (i) Rule 13(b) concerning setting the terms of continuing hardship exemption and (ii) Rule 202 regarding the adjustment of a filing date for an electronic filing. Continue reading "SEC Publishes Regulation S-T Rule in Federal..." »

The SEC has announced that technical issues with Form 13H (and its variants) resulting from the end of life of Adobe Flash software has been resolved. Filers who were unable to file Form 13H (or variant) because of the issue should submit their filings as soon as possible. Continue reading "Form 13H Issues Caused by Adobe Flash Player..." »

On January 21, 2021, the SEC announced that it has amended its list of unregistered entities that use inaccurate data to solicit mainly non-US investors, adding 28 soliciting entities, six bogus regulators, and three impersonators of real firms. By revising the list of soliciting entities that have been the subject of investor complaints (referred to as the Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities (PAUSE) list), the agency can provide to the public information learned by reviewing tips, referrals, complaints, and other sources, so investors may be cautioned about potential fraud before they invest. Continue reading "SEC Updates List of Entities Using Inaccurate..." »

On January 11, 2021, the SEC announced that its Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee will hold a remote meeting on Friday, January 29, 2021. The event will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET and will be presented live via webcast on sec.gov for public viewing. The video conference will also be archived on the SEC’s webpage for later viewing. Members of the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee will review matters related to Release Nos. 33-10919 and 34-90882 and File No. 265-32 concerning rules and regulations affecting small and emerging companies and their investors under the federal securities laws. Continue reading "SEC Announces January 29 Virtual Meeting of the..." »

On January 15, 2021, the SEC issued the required notice concerning new fee rates under Section 31 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The agency announced that starting on February 25, 2021, the fee rates related to most securities transactions will be set at $5.10 per million dollars. Fee rate advisories must be published within 30 days of the date on which an act making a regular appropriation for the applicable fiscal year is adopted. On December 27, 2020, the President enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, which includes total appropriations of $1,926,162,000 to the SEC for fiscal year 2021. Continue reading "Second Fee Rate Advisory for Fiscal Year 2021" »

On January 15, 2021, the SEC’s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation announced that it will host its second annual Capital Call on Feb. 4, 2020, at 1 p.m. ET. The call, which is entitled “What’s Happening from Startup to Small Cap”, is freely open to the public and will explore current issues that impact small businesses and their investors. Continue reading "SEC’s Small Business Advocate to Hold Capital..." »