Proposed Rules. Concept release; request for comments

Agency: Securities and Exchange Commission
Action: Concept release; request for comments
Citation: FR Doc. 2015-16639 · RIN 3235-AL70 · Release No. 33-9862; 34-75344 File No. S7-13-15 · 17 CFR 240

Summary

The Commission is publishing this concept release to seek public comment regarding audit committee reporting requirements, with a focus on the audit committee's reporting of its responsibilities with respect to its oversight of the independent auditor. Some have expressed a view that the Commission's disclosure rules for this area may not result in disclosures about audit committees and their activities that are sufficient to help investors understand and evaluate audit committee performance, which may in turn inform those investors' investment or voting decisions. The majority of these disclosure requirements, which exist in their current form principally in Item 407 of Regulation S-K, were adopted in 1999. Since then, there have been significant changes in the role and responsibilities of audit committees arising out of, among other things, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, enhanced listing requirements for audit committees, enhanced requirements for auditor communications with the audit committee arising out of the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and changes in practice, both domestically and internationally.

Dates

Comments should be received on or before September 8, 2015.