The Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies will hold its second meeting next week in New York to finalize its agenda, to consider suggestions on defining the term "smaller public company" and to hear testimony on methods to scale securities regulations for smaller public companies.
Led by Chicago attorney Herbert S. Wander and Kimball International Inc. chief executive James C. Thyen, the committee was established back in December to gauge the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other aspects of the federal securities laws on the nation's smaller public companies.
The committee is tasked with examining the impact of SOX in the areas of: the frameworks for internal control over financial reporting that apply to smaller public companies; methods for management's assessment of internal control; standards for auditing internal control; corporate disclosure and reporting requirements and federal corporate governance requirements; accounting standards and financial reporting requirements; and the process, requirements and exemptions related to securities offerings. It must make recommendations for changes in the system by April 2006.
The group will meet June 16 at Columbia Law School in New York from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m and June 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The meeting will be webcast on the commission's Web site,
Thursday's agenda includes considering reports of subcommittees or other subgroups of the advisory committee, approval of the committee agenda and discussion of any recommendations proposed for adoption. The committee will hear from a subgroup appointed to make suggestions to the committee on defining the term "smaller public company" for its purposes.
Friday, the committee will consider written statements filed in connection with the meeting and hearing oral testimony, which will focus on methods it might recommend to scale securities regulations for smaller public companies.
Requests to present oral testimony should be received by June 6. Written statements should be received by June 8. Written statements may be submitted electronically at
Paper statements should be sent in triplicate to Jonathan G. Katz, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20549-0609. Submissions should refer to File No. 265-23.
People who wish to provide oral testimony at the Friday session should submit a request to testify to Kevin M. O'Neill, Special Counsel, Office of Small Business Policy, Division of Corporation Finance, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20549-0310, or to oneillk@sec.gov.
