Securities and Exchange Commission 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is adopting amendments to the accelerated filer and large accelerated filer definitions to more appropriately tailor the types of issuers that are included in the categories of accelerated and large accelerated filers and promote capital formation, preserve capital, and reduce unnecessary burdens for certain smaller issuers while maintaining investor protections. The amendments exclude from the accelerated and large accelerated filer definitions an issuer that is eligible to be a smaller reporting company and that had annual revenues of less than $100 million in the most recent fiscal year for which audited financial statements are available. The amendments also include a specific provision excluding business development companies from the accelerated and large accelerated filer definitions in analogous circumstances. In addition, the amendments increase the transition thresholds for accelerated and large accelerated filers becoming non- accelerated filers from $50 million to $60 million, and for exiting large accelerated filer status from $500 million to $560 million. Further, the amendments add a revenue test to the transition thresholds for exiting from both accelerated and large accelerated filer status. Finally, the amendments add a check box to the cover pages of Forms 10- K, 20-F, and 40-F to indicate whether an internal control over financial reporting (``ICFR'') auditor attestation is included in the filing. As a result of the amendments, certain low-revenue issuers will remain obligated, among other things, to establish and maintain ICFR and have management assess the effectiveness of ICFR, but they will not be required to have their management's assessment of the effectiveness of ICFR attested to, and reported on, by an independent auditor.