On May 9, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed revisions to the accelerated filer and large accelerated filer definitions in 17 CFR 12b-2 (Rule 12b-2). These proposed changes would reduce the number of issuers that qualify as accelerated filers and reduce compliance costs for smaller reporting companies.
If the proposal is adopted, certain low-revenue issuers would not be subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) Section 404(b) auditor attestation requirements regarding internal control over financial reporting (ICFR). In addition, these low-revenue issuers would not need to comply with the shorter SEC reporting deadlines that apply to accelerated and large accelerated filers.