The recent breach at the SEC illustrates how prevalent internet cyberattacks have become. They are a ubiquitous threat, inherent to the information exchange the internet provides. Often times with little warning or even indication that the event is occurring, hackers can infiltrate secure systems and access nonpublic information that could be exploited or damaging to multiple parties. Particularly when it comes to EDGAR, a great deal of sensitive, private information is regularly exchanged between companies and the SEC. Should this information be accessed before it’s appropriate, it could lead to all sorts of undesirable consequences. Even something as simple as prior knowledge of the type of form a company is in the process of filing can result in unwanted outcomes. Therefore, it’s essential that we as filers, filing agents, and other involved parties protect ourselves from unwanted intrusions.

On September 21st, the SEC approved sets of interpretive guidelines to assist companies in their efforts to comply with the pay ratio disclosure mandate. This mandate comes from Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and companies are required to begin making pay ratio disclosures in early 2018.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) opened registration for the Compliance Outreach Program for Municipal Advisors earlier this month.

On September 20th, the SEC indicated that a cybersecurity breach that occurred in 2016 may have provided the basis through which cyber threat actors achieved illicit gains. Accordingly, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton issued a statement detailing the importance of cybersecurity to the agency and market participants. The statement also reviews the SEC’s approach to cybersecurity in an effort to mitigate the risk of further incidents.

On September 11, 2017, EDGAR 17.3 was released by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This release introduces a pilot phase for the N-PORT and N-CEN EDGAR forms. Additionally, a number of forms were adjusted to allow co-registrants to designate whether they are an Emerging Growth Company.

On August 31, 2017, the SEC named Jeffrey Harris as Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA). The Commission also named Dalia Blass as Director of the Division of Investment Management.

On August 24, 2017, the SEC announced a fee rate of $124.50 per million dollars for the 2018 fiscal year. This is the fee public companies and other issuers pay to register their securities with the Commission.

Starting as early as next month, accelerated filers will need to comply with new hyperlinking rules adopted by the SEC earlier this year. These form amendments now require companies who file registration statements or reports subject to the exhibit requirements under Item 601 of Regulation S-K or who file Forms F-10 or F-20 to include a hyperlink to each exhibit listed in the filing’s exhibit index. This is intended to make it simpler for investors and other interested parties to locate the exhibits included or referenced in a filing.

The SEC recently released draft technical specifications for two new forms: Form N-CEN and Form N-PORT. With the upcoming release of EDGAR 17.3 (scheduled to be released September 11), these new forms will be implemented for testing.

The SEC has issued two releases regarding revenue recognition with an additional Staff Accounting Bulletin released by the SEC staff to update interpretive guidance regarding revenue recognition.

XBRL US will be offering a second IFRS Taxonomy Deep Dive Webinar on August 23rd at 3:00 PM EST. This webinar will cover the IFRS Taxonomy and SEC rules requiring foreign private issuers to file their financials in XBRL format.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published their Proposed Update 1 to the IFRS taxonomy. These updates pertain to IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts. A public comment period has begun and will end on September 18th, 2017.

The XBRL US Center for Data Quality has begun a public review period on July 19th, 2017, for the fifth set of proposed rules to provide guidance and aid for issuers in identifying errors in their XBRL SEC filings. The Data Quality Committee rules aim to help filers limit mistakes and avoid data inconsistencies that can adversely affect analysis of reported financial information.

On July 17, 2017, EDGAR 17.2 was released by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This release contained changes that added new fields to a number of forms that designate whether a registrant is an Emerging Growth Company and to inform the SEC as to whether the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards. Other changes affect a number of forms, including Form D, Form CFPortal, Form 17HACON, and the exhibit document for Form ABS-EE.

On August 1, 2017, new rules that require funds to describe their securities lending activities will go into effect.