On February 12, 2025, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14M (“SLB 14M”), which rescinds in part Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L (“SLB 14L”). In addition, SLB 14M provides guidance and clarification on the Staff’s views on the scope
SEC News
SEC Provides New Guidance on the Use of Schedules 13D and 13G
Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) Division of Corporation Finance revised two Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“C&DIs”) relating to beneficial ownership disclosures on Schedules 13D and 13G. Schedule 13D is required to be filed to report 5% or greater ownership of a class of equity securities of a public company, while…
Shift in Shareholder Proposal Guidance
In January, Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce discussed her desire to reevaluate the SEC’s shareholder proposal process, suggesting that the SEC do “a better job protecting investors from having their resources diverted to deal with shareholder proposals that are not aimed at maximizing corporate value.” Commissioner Peirce pointed out that the number of…
SEC Statement on Climate-Based Disclosure Rule Provides Insight into Evolving Disclosure Priorities
Over the last few weeks, each of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s members have highlighted the current Commission’s views of disclosure by public companies. On February 11, 2025, Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda’s Statement on Climate-Related Disclosure Rules (the “Statement”) directly addressed the Commission rulemaking entitled Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors (the…
Updated Proxy Rules C&DIs
On January 27, 2025, the staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission updated its Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“C&DIs”) for Proxy Rules and Schedules 14A/14C with respect to notices of exempt solicitations under Rule 14a-6(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
Rule 14a-2(b)(1) of the Exchange Act exempts…
SEC Enforcement Reminds Companies to Disclose Related-Person Transactions with Family Members
As proxy season kicks off, companies should be mindful of their disclosure obligations regarding related-person transactions, especially those involving immediate family members of executive officers and directors. On January 15, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced the settlement of an enforcement action against a publicly traded software and payment processing company (the “Company”)…
2025 SEC Filing Deadlines and Financial Statement Staleness Dates
This Legal Update summarizes the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2025 calendar year filing deadlines and financial statement staleness dates.
Continue reading this Legal Update.
SEC’s EDGAR: The Next Chapter
On September 27, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted final amendments to Rules 10 and 11 of Regulation S-T (17 CFR 232.10 and 232.11) and Form ID to improve access to, and management of, accounts on the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system. Known as “EDGAR Next,” these enhancements are designed…
SEC Chief Accountant on the Updated Conceptual Framework in FASB Standard Setting
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) recently completed an update to its Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (the “Framework”). The Framework is a body of interrelated objectives and fundamentals that provides the FASB with guidance as it sets standards for financial accounting and reporting. The update marks the end of a significant project that began…
US Regulators Propose Data Standards to Implement the Financial Data Transparency Act
Several federal financial regulators (the “Agencies”) have approved and published an interagency proposal to establish data standards that promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across these agencies (the “Proposal”). The Agencies issued the Proposal as required by the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022 (FDTA) and have requested comment on their jointly established data standards.…