TheCorporateCounsel.net

Yesterday, the Division of Corporation Finance rolled out a revamped web page on sec.gov. Broc noted a few weeks back how the home page on sec.gov was redesigned, and now it looks like Corp Fin has followed suit with a reordered page that makes it easier to find useful guidance and information (once you get used to it).

While the page is still cast in the trusty blue, red and grey that we have grown accustomed to, the previously cluttered navigation bar on the far left now appears to be dedicated to linking to the “What’s New” page, rather than including links to the largely the same things that are available on the body of the page or elsewhere on sec.gov. Further, a new “Staff Guidance and Interpretations” section in the left column of the page consolidates all of the legal and accounting guidance, including the CD&Is, the Financial Reporting Manual, No-Action, Interpretive and Exemptive Letters, SABs, SLBs, CF Disclosure Guidance and Division Policy Statements.

On the right side of the page, there are separate links for “special categories of issuers,” i.e., asset-backed, foreign issuers and small business, an EDGAR search function, and, under the “Contact Us” header, links to the portals for submitting requests for interpretive advice and no-action letters. One nifty utility under the “Contact Us” header is the “Find the Office Responsible for Company Filings” search function, which allows you to enter the company name, CIK number, ticker symbol and/or SIC code and come up with the Assistant Director office that a company is assigned to.

Having been heavily involved in a prior redesign of the Corp Fin web page, I am a big fan of this new approach, as I think it makes it much easier to access the Division’s guidance all in one place, rather than having to hunt around for all of the various pieces depending on whether the information is “legal” or “accounting” related.

Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies Rolls On

With the enactment of the JOBS Act back in April, one may have thought that the SEC’s Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies would have folded up their tents and gone home. Luckily, they have not (in fact I don’t think they were even issued tents), as there is still work to be done in terms of figuring out ways to improve capital access for small and emerging companies and reduce regulatory burdens on smaller companies, as evidenced by their agenda for a meeting taking place tomorrow at the Commission. The Advisory Committee plans to talk about the JOBS Act, market structure issues, and scaling of disclosure and corporate governance rules for smaller public companies. Hopefully, the Advisory Committee can serve as a useful resource to the Commission as it considers rules changes under the JOBS Act, and can also serve as a springboard for future small business initiatives that the Commission may want to undertake once it gets the JOBS Act rulemaking out of the way.

Deal Cube Tournament: Round One; 11th Match

As noted in these rules (and keep sending more pics for the next tourney), please vote for two of the following four cubes below:

– Snapple Bottle (Lemon Iced Tea)
– Rhino with Zesty, Upturned Horn
– Gold Buckle with Ram’s Head
– Standard

– Dave Lynn