The SEC is engaged on a proposal to permit public firms to launch earnings stories twice a 12 months as an alternative of quarterly, per the WSJ. 

Chatter about making the 50-plus-year-old quarterly requirement non-compulsory has picked up steam previously 12 months, as firms lament the associated fee and burden of making ready for quarterly earnings. The requirement can be considered one purpose why some firms select to remain personal longer. 

These in favor of change hope {that a} semiannual requirement will encourage extra firms to go public by making it simpler to take care of public firm standing. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and President Trump have each voiced assist for the thought. The Journal stories that the SEC has already begun discussions with exchanges about potential subsequent steps, although any change remains to be a good distance away. 

If the SEC releases its proposal — which may come inside the subsequent few weeks — it is going to be topic to a public remark interval after which a vote. There may be precedent for this rule, notes the Journal. Each the European Union and the U.Ok. eradicated obligatory quarterly reporting roughly a decade in the past in favor of semiannual disclosures, although many firms in each markets nonetheless report quarterly by selection.