SEC Plan to Reduce Earnings Report Frequency to Biannual Approved by White House

On May 1, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that its plan to allow publicly traded companies to reduce the frequency of earnings report disclosures from quarterly to biannually has passed White House review, bringing it closer to implementation. According to information from the U.S. government website, the review was completed earlier this week, allowing the SEC to formally announce the plan and seek public comments. After receiving feedback, commissioners will need to vote again on the final version before it can take effect. Voting typically occurs several months later. Following President Trump’s call last year to change quarterly reports to biannual reports, the SEC has been advancing this reform of corporate information disclosure requirements. Since 1970, U.S. publicly traded companies have been required to disclose financial information quarterly.