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On Friday, Corp Fin posted this “Small Entity Compliance Guide” – which summarizes the recent amendments to the smaller reporting company thresholds & clarifies when newly-eligible companies can transition to scaled disclosure. For a summary, see this blog from Cooley’s Cydney Posner. Here are a few key points:

– Companies determine SRC status annually as of the last business day of their second fiscal quarter. If a company doesn’t qualify under the “public float” test, it would then determine whether it qualified based on annual revenues in its most recent fiscal year completed before the last business day of the second fiscal quarter.

– A company that’s newly qualified as an SRC can elect to use scaled disclosure beginning with the second quarter Form 10-Q. A company must reflect its SRC status in its Form 10-Q for the first fiscal quarter of the next year.

– For purposes of the first determination of SRC status after the September 10th effective date of the new rules, companies will qualify if they meet the revised definition as of the last business day of their most recently-completed second fiscal quarter. Companies can use scaled disclosure in their next current or periodic report due after September 10th (or filed on or after September 10th, in the case of transactional filings without a due date). The guidance has a handy chart that shows when companies with various fiscal year ends can transition.

We’re posting memos about the new rules in our “Smaller Reporting Company” Practice Area.

More on “Who Administers Political Spending Policies?”

We’ve blogged a couple of times about political spending oversight – and the risk that candidates who have received company contributions might end up supporting positions that conflict with the company’s position. For an activist’s view on these risks – and recommended board policies & procedures – check out the Center for Political Accountability’s recently-issued 36-page report.

Mark your calendar for our webcast – “How Boards Should Handle Politics as a Governance Risk” – to be held on Wednesday, November 28th. And there’s still time to take our 3-question “Quick Survey on Political Spending Oversight.”

“Greenhouse Gas” Coalition Adds Target Companies

Recently, Climate Action 100+ – a coalition that includes 225 investors with $26 trillion in assets under management – announced that it’s adding 61 companies to its focus list, bringing the total to 161 companies worldwide. They’re selecting companies based on these criteria:

– Reported & modeled greenhouse emissions data (including emissions associated with the use of their products)

– Materiality to investor signatory portfolios

– Significance of their opportunities to drive the clean energy transition

Since December, 18% of focus companies officially support or have committed to implement recommendations from the ‘Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ and 22% have set or committed to set a target for reducing their emissions beyond 2030.

– Liz Dunshee