2020 SEC Handbook: Rules and Forms for Financial Statements and Related Disclosure

SEC Handbook: Rules and Forms for Financial Statements and Related Disclosure

This 2020 edition of the SEC Handbook provides the latest requirements, as of October 17, 2019, for preparing financial statements and related disclosure documents filed with the SEC.

• The Handbook is a portable, affordable, and current resource with the latest SEC rules, forms, interpretations, and other materials specifically related to preparing financial statements and other SEC disclosure documents.
• The scope is broad enough to serve as a complete reference for anyone whose practice touches on SEC disclosure rules (e.g., transactional attorneys, corporate counsel, corporate governance professionals, etc.).
• It includes the full-text of: Regulations S-K, S-X, and S-T; selected rules and forms under the 1934 Act; Industry Guides; Staff Accounting Bulletins; and the Codification of Financial Reporting Policies.

Updated SEC Rules and Regulations

The 2020 edition includes the following new and updated material:

• New Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14K, which addresses board analysis when considering the significance of a policy issue or micromanagement under the “ordinary business” exception as a basis to exclude a proposal, as well as consideration of proof-of-ownership letters
• Revisions to modernize and simplify certain disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K and related rules and forms 
• Amendments to require that companies disclose hedging policies in proxy or information statements for the election of directors 
• Revisions to reflect a new rule that permits exchange-traded funds to operate without obtaining exemptive orders
• Amendments to the SEC’s auditor independence rules to refocus the analyses that must be conducted in determining whether an auditor is independent when the auditor has a lending relationship with certain shareholders of an audit client 
• Technical amendments to reflect changes to the SEC’s Freedom of Information Act regulations

Previous Edition: 2019 SEC Handbook: Rules and Forms for Financial Statements and Related Disclosure, ISBN 9781454895794¿

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are the SEC rules?
• What are the current SEC forms?
• According to SEC rules, how much time is allowed for a proxy vote?
• What is a covered person under SEC rules?
• How does the SEC retroactively change rules?
• How many SEC rules are there?

• EDGAR Filer Information—Overview
• Filing Fee Wire Transfer Instructions Securities Act Forms (selected)
• Industry Guides
• Regulation S-K (including M-A and AB)
• Regulation S-T
• Exchange Act Rules (selected)
• Exchange Act Forms (selected)
• Regulation S-X
• Codification of Financial Reporting Policies
• Staff Accounting Bulletins
• Proxy Rules, including Regulation 14A
• Staff Legal Bulletins (selected)
• JOBS Act FAQ
• Topical Index