The latest SEC rulemaking produced no surprises. The Commission canceled an open meeting, passed a deregulatory measure by a 3-1 vote, and saw a vigorous dissent from Commissioner Allison Lee.
The new rule tweaked the definition of accelerated and large accelerated filers to remove the requirement that an auditor attest to the adequacy of internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) for smaller reporting public companies with revenues of less than $100 million. Congress imposed the auditor attestation requirement in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to deter management from manipulating financial results. Issuers have long complained about the costs, however.
Opposing Voices
The ...