SEC Issues Final Rules Amending MD&A Requirements And Other Financial Disclosures

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued final rules adopting amendments to certain financial disclosure requirements and to the disclosure required in Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A). We previously discussed the proposed rules in a January 2020 client alert, and the final rules are substantially consistent with the proposal. 

The final rules, issued on November 19, 2020, address Items 301 (Selected Financial Data), 302 (Supplementary Financial Data) and 303 (MD&A) of Regulation S-K. We discuss the most significant of these changes in the following alert.

Amendments to Item 301 (Selected Financial Data)

Current Item 301 requires companies to provide selected financial information for each of the five most recent fiscal years. It does not apply to smaller reporting companies, and emerging growth companies are not required to provide selective financial information for any year for which audited financial statements were not included in