SEC Issues Interim Final Rule Required By The FAST Act Regarding Form 10-K Summary Page

On June 1, 2016, the SEC issued an interim final rule to implement Section 72001 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which requires the SEC to issue regulations to permit issuers to submit a summary page on Form 10–K, but only if each item on such summary page includes a cross-reference (by electronic link or otherwise) to the material contained in Form 10–K to which such item relates.  The interim final rule amends Part IV of Form 10-K to add new Item 16, which will expressly allow a registrant, at its option, to include a summary in the Form 10-K.  New Item 16 requires that each summary topic be hyperlinked to the related, more detailed disclosure item in the Form 10-K.  The interim final rule does not prescribe the length of the summary (other than to state that the summary shall be brief), specify the Form 10-K disclosure items that should be covered by the summary, or dictate where the summary must appear in the Form 10-K.  The SEC indicated