Boards Face New Pressure as SEC Plans to Axe Quarterly Reporting

Matt Franker's commentary was featured in an Agenda piece about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s purported plans to eliminate quarterly reporting.

Biannual reporting would likely be attractive to smaller companies, particularly those that have not yet commercialized a product, Matt said.

However, even if the SEC blesses a move to less frequent reporting, many large companies are likely to continue with quarterly reporting due to investor expectations and the fact that their controls are designed for quarterly reporting, he said. If companies wish to move to biannual reporting, boards should evaluate their internal controls and procedures and consider how biannual reporting could affect capital raising activity.

“If biannual reporting is adopted, boards should evaluate the pros and cons of reporting on a quarterly versus biannual basis and seek to engage with shareholders before converting to biannual reporting,” Matt noted.