Washington (Aug. 27, 2004) -- Citing concerns raised by companies and their auditors in meeting both Sarbanes-Oxley 404 compliance requirements and accelerated filing schedules, the Securities and Exchange Commission said that it may postpone by one year its mandate of having public companies file more rapidly quarterly and annual reports.
As previously reported, the SEC’s revised schedule would force companies to file their annual report no later than 60 days after their fiscal year-end and 35 days following the end of a quarter.
Currently SEC issuers are required to file annual reports within 75 days of their fiscal year-end and within 40 days of the end of the quarter.
"We think that the proposed postponement for one year would address concerns that the final step in acceleration of the periodic report deadlines may impede some accelerated filers' initial efforts to implement the internal control requirements with the care and attention we believe is desirable," the SEC said in a statement.
The regulator said that it would open the proposal to a 30-day comment period.
-- WebCPA staff
