SEC Proposing New Corporate Disclosure Rules

ByJohn S. McClenahen In the wake of the financial collapse of Enron Corp., the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) will propose the first of what it says will be a series of steps to improve corporate financial reporting and disclosure. No exact timetable has been given. Accelerated reporting of transactions by company insiders in company securities is one of five requirements that the SEC will propose to impose on companies in its initial round of actions. The four other proposed changes are: faster filing of quarterly and annual reports; expanding the list of "significant events" that must be disclosed in 8-K filings; posting Exchange Act reports on company Web sites as they are filed with the SEC; and mandating the disclosure of "critical accounting practices" in the management discussion and analysis section of the annual report.