SEC Adopts Final Rules To Further Simplify Disclosure Requirements

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently adopted amendments to certain of its rules and regulations to modernize and simplify Regulation S-K. ¹ The SEC adopted these amendments in response to mandates under the 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, nearly 18 months after it first proposed the amendments ² and just over 6 months after it adopted other changes also intended to simplify and update reporting requirements. ³ The latest modifications are "intended to improve the quality and accessibility of disclosure in filings by simplifying and modernizing . . . requirements" while also clarifying ambiguous disclosure requirements, removing redundancies, and further leveraging the use of technology. ⁴ Highlights of these new amendments are summarized below.