Paul S. Atkins is the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This post is based on his recent remarks. The views expressed in the post are those of Chairman Atkins and do not necessarily reflect those of the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. And thank you, Keir [Gumbs], for your warm introduction. I look forward to our conversation in just a few moments.
Before I offer a few reflections, I must note that the views I express here today are my own as Chairman and do not necessarily reflect those of the SEC as an institution or of my fellow Commissioners.
Of course, I should also like to thank the Society for Corporate Governance for the invitation to join you today. While it is always an honor to speak with the Society, this occasion is rendered especially significant for two reasons. First, as a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, returning to Nashville always feels like a homecoming. But second—and more importantly—because we gather in the immediate wake of our nation’s 250th anniversary, it is a moment that lends particular weight to our discussion today.
Comment Letter on the SEC’s Proposal to Replace Quarterly Reporting with Semiannual Reporting
More from: Donal Byard, Edward Li, Kris Ramesh, Min Shen
Kris Ramesh is the Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Accounting, Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. This post is based on an SEC comment letter by Donal Byard, Irving Weinstein Professorship in Accountancy & Chair, Stan Ross Department of Accountancy, Baruch College, CUNY; Edward Li, Professor of Accounting, Stan Ross Department of Accountancy, Baruch College, CUNY; Kris Ramesh; and Min Shen, Associate Professor of Accounting, Philip G. Buchanan Fellow, Costello College of Business, George Mason University.
We welcome the opportunity to comment on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed amendments that would allow Exchange Act reporting companies to elect semiannual reporting on a new Form 10-S in lieu of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q (“the proposal”). We write as academics with extensive experience conducting research that examines SEC periodic reports, earnings announcements, information intermediaries, and the dissemination and processing of public company disclosures. We appreciate the proposal’s careful economic analysis of the potential costs and benefits of the proposed rule change. Drawing on our experience as active researchers in this field, we aim to clarify relevant findings from the academic literature and to highlight important operational considerations that may arise in implementing the proposed rule change.
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