[Federal Register: October 19, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 200)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 53627-53631]
[DOCID:fr19oc09-17]

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Part III

Securities and Exchange Commission

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17 CFR Parts 210, 229 and 249

Internal Control Over Financial Reporting in Exchange Act Periodic
Reports of Non-Accelerated Filers; Final Rule

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

17 CFR Parts 210, 229 and 249

[Release Nos. 33-9072; 34-60813; File No. S7-06-03]
RIN 3235-AK48

Internal Control Over Financial Reporting in Exchange Act
Periodic Reports of Non-Accelerated Filers

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission.

ACTION: Final rules.

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SUMMARY: We are amending temporary rules that require companies that
are non-accelerated filers to include in their annual reports, pursuant
to rules implementing Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002,
an attestation report of their independent auditor on internal control
over financial reporting for fiscal years ending on or after December
15, 2009. The amendments will extend the compliance date for filing
attestation reports, so that a non-accelerated filer will be required
to file the auditor's attestation report on internal control over
financial reporting when it files an annual report for a fiscal year
ending on or after June 15, 2010.

DATES: Effective Date: This rule is effective December 18, 2009. The
effectiveness of Sec. Sec.  210.2-02T and 229.308T, which currently
terminates on June 30, 2010, is extended through December 15, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven G. Hearne, Special Counsel,
Office of Rulemaking, Division of Corporation Finance, at (202) 551-
3430, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549-3628.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are amending the following forms and
temporary rules to extend the compliance dates for companies that are
non-accelerated filers to include an attestation report of their
independent auditor on internal control over financial reporting in
their annual reports: Rule 2-02T of Regulation S-X,\1\ Item 308T of
Regulation S-K,\2\ Item 4T of Form 10-Q,\3\ Item 9A(T) of Form 10-K,\4\
Item 15T of Form 20-F,\5\ and Instruction 3T of General Instruction
B.(6) of Form 40-F.\6\
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    \1\ 17 CFR 210.2-02T.
    \2\ 17 CFR 229.308T.
    \3\ 17 CFR 249.308a.
    \4\ 17 CFR 249.310.
    \5\ 17 CFR 249.220f.
    \6\ 17 CFR 249.240f.
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I. Background

    On June 5, 2003,\7\ the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted
several amendments to its rules and forms implementing Section 404 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.\8\ Among other things, these amendments
require companies, other than registered investment companies, to
include in their annual reports filed with us a report of management,
and an accompanying auditor's attestation report, on the effectiveness
of the company's internal control over financial reporting (``ICFR'').
Subsequent to the adoption of those rules, the Commission took a number
of steps to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Section 404
implementation.\9\ Among the steps taken, the Commission approved
issuance by the PCAOB of Auditing Standard No. 5 (``AS No. 5''), which
replaced Auditing Standard No. 2.\10\ In addition, we issued
interpretive guidance to assist management in complying with the ICFR
evaluation and disclosure requirements.\11\ The approval of PCAOB's AS
No. 5 provided revised professional standards and related performance
guidance for independent auditors to attest to, and report on,
management's assessment of the effectiveness of ICFR. Our management
guidance, in combination with AS No. 5, was intended to make ICFR
audits and management evaluations of ICFR more cost-effective by being
risk-based and scalable to a company's size and complexity.
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    \7\ See Management's Reports on Internal Control Over Financial
Reporting and Certification of Disclosure in Exchange Act Periodic
Reports, Release No. 33-8238 (June 5, 2003) [68 FR 36636].
    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 7262.
    \9\ For a more complete discussion of the Commission's actions
in this area, see Internal Control Over Financial Reporting in
Exchange Act Periodic Reports of Non-Accelerated Filers, Release No.
33-8934 (June 26, 2008) [73 FR 38094] (the ``2008 Adopting
Release'').
    \10\ See Order Approving Proposed Auditing Standard No. 5, An
Audit of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting that is
Integrated with an Audit of Financial Statements, a Related
Independence Rule, and Conforming Amendments, Release No. 34-56152
(July 27, 2007) [72 FR 42141].
    \11\ See Commission Guidance Regarding Management's Report on
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting Under Section 13(a) or
15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Release No. 33-8810
(June 20, 2007) [72 FR 35324].
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    In the Commission's most recent action, we postponed the Section
404(b) auditor attestation requirement for non-accelerated filers \12\
for an additional year in order to allow time for the PCAOB to issue
final staff guidance on auditing ICFR of smaller reporting companies
and for the Commission staff to undertake a study to help determine
whether AS No. 5 and our management guidance on evaluating ICFR are
facilitating more cost-effective ICFR evaluations and audits for
smaller public companies.\13\ The PCAOB published staff guidance for
auditors of smaller public companies on January 23, 2009 describing how
auditors can apply the principles described in AS No. 5 and providing
examples of approaches to particular issues that might arise in the
audits of smaller, less complex public companies. \14\
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    \12\ Although the term ``non-accelerated filer'' is not defined
in our rules, we use it throughout this release to refer to an
Exchange Act reporting company that does not meet the Rule 12b-2 [17
CFR 140.12b-2] definition of either an ``accelerated filer'' or a
``large accelerated filer.''
    \13\ See the 2008 Adopting Release in note 9 above.
    \14\ See ``Staff Views--An Audit of Internal Control that is
Integrated with an Audit of the Financial Statements: Guidance for
Auditors of Smaller Public Companies,'' (Jan. 23, 2009), available
at http://www.pcaobus.org. Topics discussed in the PCAOB's guidance
include: entity-level controls, risk of management override,
segregation of duties and alternative controls, information
technology controls, financial reporting competencies, and testing
controls with less formal documentation.
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    The Commission directed the staff to conduct a study in order to
help the Commission assess whether the new management guidance and AS
No. 5 are having the intended effect of facilitating more cost-
effective ICFR evaluations and audits for smaller reporting
companies.\15\ The study included a Web-based survey of companies that
are subject to ICFR requirements, as well as in-depth interviews with
financial statement users, auditors of issuers, and a subset of
companies eligible to participate in the Web-based study. The study,
analyzing the data provided by the survey, was recently completed by
the staff and made public by the Commission on October 2, 2009.
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    \15\ See ``Study of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Section 404
Internal Control over Financial Reporting Requirements,'' available
at http://www.sec.gov.
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    Without today's amendments, a non-accelerated filer would be
required to file the auditor's attestation report on ICFR when it files
its annual report for a fiscal year ending on or after December 15,
2009. In light of the proximity in time of the publication of the staff
study and the end of the year, and concerns that a significant number
of smaller public companies may not have prepared to comply with
Section 404(b) pending completion of the staff study, we are amending
our rules to defer requiring the auditor's attestation report until a
non-accelerated filer's annual report for its fiscal year ending on or
after June 15, 2010.
    The Commission believes that an auditor's attestation to a
company's

disclosure of its assessment on the effectiveness of the company's
internal control is an important safeguard. The obligation of non-
accelerated filers to comply with Section 404(b) has been deferred a
number of times to more than five years after the date on which
compliance was required of accelerated filers.\16\ The Commission notes
that all steps necessary to implement the requirements of Section 404
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have been completed, and non-accelerated
filers should work with their auditors to comply with Section 404(b)
for annual reports for fiscal years ending on or after June 15, 2010.
The Commission does not expect to further defer the obligation of non-
accelerated filers to comply with Section 404(b).
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    \16\ Accelerated filers were initially expected to comply with
the auditor attestation requirement in annual reports filed on or
after June 15, 2004.
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    We believe at this point that only an immediate deferral of the
current filing requirement for non-accelerated filers can address the
uncertainty raised by the recent completion of the study and
announcement of the new compliance date for the auditor attestation
report requirement. In addition, because of the timing of the
publication of the study, immediate implementation of Section 404(b)
would require non-accelerated filers and their auditors to plan for the
auditor attestation under compressed timeframes, resulting in higher
costs than would be required with more deliberative planning. Due to
the significance and importance of Section 404(b) implementation by
non-accelerated filers, especially for the first time, it is critical
to provide non-accelerated filers with certainty regarding the filing
requirements as soon as possible. On the basis of the timing
constraints discussed above and the limited nature of the extension,
the Commission, for good cause, finds that notice and solicitation of
comment regarding the amendments to defer the filing requirement is
impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest, and the
extension is necessary or appropriate in the public interest and
consistent with the protection of investors.\17\
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    \17\ See Section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure
Act [5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B)] (stating that an agency may dispense
with prior notice and comment when it finds, for good cause, that
notice and comment are ``impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to
the public interest''). In addition, the Commission notes that the
U.S. public companies subject to all of the requirements of Section
404 represent an overwhelming majority of the market capitalization
of the U.S. equity securities market.
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II. Extension of Auditor Attestation Compliance Date for Non-
Accelerated Filers

    We are amending Item 308T of Regulation S-K, Rule 2-02T of
Regulation S-X, and Forms 10-Q, 10-K, 20-F and 40-F to require non-
accelerated filers to provide their auditor's attestation in their
annual reports filed for fiscal years ending on or after June 15, 2010.
Prior to that time, a non-accelerated filer continues to be required to
state in its management report on ICFR that the company's annual report
does not include an auditor attestation report.\18\ In 2006, we adopted
a temporary rule \19\ that provided that the management report included
in a non-accelerated filer's annual report that did not contain the
auditor's attestation report would be deemed ``furnished'' rather than
``filed'' and not be subject to liability under Section 18 of the
Exchange Act.\20\ In 2008 we extended the temporary rule.\21\ In light
of our action to extend the date for compliance with Section 404(b) to
fiscal years ending on or after June 15, 2010, we are likewise
extending the temporary rule to treat the management report as
``furnished'' instead of ``filed'' for reports that do not include an
auditor's attestation in reliance upon the extension of the compliance
date.
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    \18\ See Item 308T(a)(4) of Regulation S-K, Item 15T(b)(4) of
Form 20-F and Instruction 3T to the Instructions to paragraphs (b),
(c), (d), and (e) of General Instruction B.(6) of Form 40-F.
    \19\ See Internal Control Over Financial Reporting in Exchange
Act Periodic Reports of Non-Accelerated Filers and Newly Public
Companies, Release No. 33-8760 (Dec. 15, 2006) [71 FR 76580].
    \20\ Section 18 of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. 78r] imposes
liability on any person who makes or causes to be made in any
application or report or document filed under the Act, or any rule
thereunder, any statement that ``was at the time and in the light of
the circumstances under which it was made false or misleading with
respect to any material fact.'' As a result of temporary Item 308T
of Regulation S-K and the temporary amendments to Forms 20-F and 40-
F, however, during the applicable periods, management's report would
be subject to liability under this section only in the event that a
non-accelerated filer specifically states that the report is to be
considered ``filed'' under the Exchange Act or incorporates it by
reference into a filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange
Act.
    \21\ See the 2008 Adopting Release in note 9 above.
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    The revised compliance dates for the Section 404 internal control
requirements are presented in the table below:

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Filer Status                           Compliance Dates for the Internal Control Over
                                        Financial Reporting Requirements
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                                                                Management report on     Auditor attestation on
                                                                 ICFR                     management's report on
                                                                                ICFR
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U.S. Issuer..........................  Non-accelerated filer    Annual reports for       Annual reports for
                                        (public float under      fiscal years ending on   fiscal years ending on
                                        $75 million).            or after December 15,    or after June 15,
                                                                 2007.                    2010.
U.S. Issuer..........................  Large accelerated filer  Annual reports for       Annual reports for
                                        and accelerated filer    fiscal years ending on   fiscal years ending on
                                        (public float above      or after November 15,    or after November 15,
                                        $75 million).            2004.                    2004.
Foreign private issuer...............  Non-accelerated filer    Annual reports for       Annual reports for
                                        (public float under      fiscal years ending on   fiscal years ending on
                                        $75 million).            or after December 15,    or after June 15,
                                                                 2007.                    2010.
Foreign private issuer...............  Accelerated filer        Annual reports for       Annual reports for
                                        (public float above      fiscal years ending on   fiscal years ending on
                                        $75 million and below    or after July 15, 2006.  or after July 15,
                                        $700 million).                                    2007.
Foreign private issuer...............  Large accelerated filer  Annual reports for       Annual reports for
                                        (public float above      fiscal years ending on   fiscal years ending on
                                        $700 million).           or after July 15, 2006.  or after July 15,
                                                                                2006.
U.S. or Foreign private issuer.......  Newly public company...  Second annual report...  Second annual report.
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III. Paperwork Reduction Act

    In connection with our earlier proposal and adoption of the rules
and amendments implementing the Section 404 requirements,\22\ we
submitted cost and burden estimates of the collection of information
requirements of the amendments to the Office of Management and Budget
(``OMB''). We published a notice requesting comment on the collection
of information requirements in the proposing release for those rule
amendments. We submitted these requirements to the OMB for review in
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (``PRA'') \23\ and
received approval of these estimates. We do not believe that the
amendments will result in any change in the collection of information
requirements of the amendments implementing Section 404 and we
previously received no comments suggesting the amendments would result
in any change. Therefore, we are not revising our PRA burden and cost
estimates submitted to the OMB.
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    \22\ See Release Nos. 33-8238 in Note 7 and 33-8760 in Note 19
above.
    \23\ 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and 5 CFR 1320.11.
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IV. Cost-Benefit Analysis

A. Benefits

    The amendments postpone the date by which a non-accelerated filer
would be required to include in its annual report an auditor
attestation report on ICFR. As a result, non-accelerated filers will be
required to complete only management's assessment of compliance with
the Section 404 requirements during the deferral period. We believe
that the additional time will benefit non-accelerated filers and could
thereby indirectly benefit investors in non-accelerated filers by
easing the burden on those companies as follows:
     Providing non-accelerated filers more time, in light of
the uncertainty in the timing due to the recent completion of the study
and the announcement, to better prepare for compliance with the Section
404(b) requirements; and
     Providing more time for the Section 404(b) audit to be
properly planned, scoped and executed.

B. Costs

    Investors in non-accelerated filers will have to wait longer than
they would in the absence of the deferral for the assurances provided
by the auditor's attestation report and the added investor confidence
that could result from obtaining an independent Section 404(b)
attestation. The amendments may extend the existing risk that, without
the auditor's attestation report, some non-accelerated filers may
erroneously conclude that the company's ICFR is effective, when an ICFR
audit might reveal that it is not. In addition, some companies may
continue to conduct an assessment that is not as thorough, careful and
as appropriate to the company's circumstances as they would perform if
the auditor were also conducting an audit of ICFR. Finally, the
amendments may also extend the existing risk that weaknesses in a
company's ICFR will go undetected for a longer period of time.

V. Consideration of Impact on the Economy, Burden on Competition and
Promotion of Efficiency, Competition and Capital Formation

    Section 23(a)(2) of the Exchange Act \24\ requires us, when
adopting rules under the Exchange Act, to consider the impact that any
new rule would have on competition. Section 23(a)(2) prohibits us from
adopting any rule that would impose a burden on competition not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Exchange
Act. In addition, Section 2(b) \25\ of the Securities Act and Section
3(f) \26\ of the Exchange Act require us, when engaging in rulemaking
where we are required to consider or determine whether an action is
necessary or appropriate in the public interest, to also consider
whether the action will promote efficiency, competition, and capital
formation.
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    \24\ 15 U.S.C. 78w(a).
    \25\ 15 U.S.C. 77b(b).
    \26\ 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
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    We expect that this additional extension of the auditor attestation
report requirement will promote capital formation and efficiency by
making the implementation process more efficient and less costly for
non-accelerated filers by:
     Providing non-accelerated filers more time to prepare for
compliance with the Section 404(b) requirements; and
     Providing more time for the Section 404(b) audit to be
properly planned, scoped and executed.
    We acknowledge, however, that it is possible for the deferral of
the auditor attestation requirement to cause some investors to have
less confidence in the financial reports of non-accelerated filers, and
that this could possibly make it more difficult for these companies to
raise capital in the public markets.
    The additional extension for non-accelerated filers should have no
impact on competition between non-accelerated filers, as the extension
is being provided to all non-accelerated filers. It is possible that a
competitive impact could result from the differing treatment of non-
accelerated filers and larger companies that already have been
complying with the Section 404 requirements, but we have not received
any information suggesting that this type of impact has occurred as a
result of prior extensions.

VI. Statutory Authority and Text of the Amendments

    The amendments described in this release are made under the
authority set forth in Section 19 of the Securities Act, Sections 3,
12, 13, 15, 23 and 36 of the Exchange Act, and Sections 3(a) and 404 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

List of Subjects

17 CFR Part 210

    Accountants, Accounting, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Securities.

17 CFR Parts 229 and 249

    Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Securities.

Text of Amendments

0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Commission is amending
title 17, chapter II, of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 210--FORM AND CONTENT OF AND REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS, SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934, PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 1935, INVESTMENT
COMPANY ACT OF 1940, INVESTMENT ADVISERS ACT OF 1940, AND ENERGY
POLICY AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975

0
1. The authority citation for part 210 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 77f, 77g, 77h, 77j, 77s, 77z-2, 77z-3,
77aa(25), 77aa(26), 77nn(25), 77nn(26), 78c, 78j-1, 78l, 78m, 78n,
78o(d), 78q, 78u-5, 78w, 78ll, 78mm, 80a-8, 80a-20, 80a-29, 80a-30,
80a-31, 80a-37(a), 80b-3, 80b-11, 7202 and 7262, unless otherwise
noted.

0
2. Section 210.2-02T is amended by:
0
a. Removing the date ``December 15, 2009'' in paragraph (a) and adding
in its place ``June 15, 2010''; and
0
b. Removing the date ``June 30, 2010'' in paragraph (b) and adding in
its place ``December 15, 2010''.

PART 229--STANDARD INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING FORMS UNDER SECURITIES
ACT OF 1933, SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 AND ENERGY POLICY AND
CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975--REGULATION S-K

0
3. The authority citation for Part 229 continues to read, in part, as
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 77e, 77f, 77g, 77h, 77j, 77k, 77s, 77z-2,
77z-3, 77aa(25), 77aa(26), 77ddd, 77eee, 77ggg, 77hhh, 77iii, 77jjj,
77nnn, 77sss, 78c, 78i, 78j, 78l, 78m, 78n, 78o, 78u-5, 78w, 78ll,
78mm, 80a-8, 80a-9, 80a-20, 80a-29, 80a-30, 80a-31(c), 80a-37, 80a-
38(a), 80a-39, 80b-11, and 7201 et seq.; and 18 U.S.C. 1350, unless
otherwise noted.
* * * * *

0
4. Section 229.308T is amended by:
0
a. Removing the date ``December 15, 2009'' in the ``Note to Item 308T''
and adding in its place ``June 15, 2010''; and
0
b. Removing the date ``June 30, 2010'' in paragraph (c) and adding in
its place ``December 15, 2010''.

PART 249--FORMS, SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

0
5. The authority citation for Part 249 continues to read, in part, as
follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 78a et seq. and 7201 et seq.; and 18 U.S.C.
1350, unless otherwise noted.
* * * * *

0
6. Form 20-F (referenced in Sec.  249.220f), Part II, Item 15T is
amended by:
0
a. Removing the date ``December 15, 2009'' in paragraph (2) to the
``Note to Item 15T'' and adding in its place ``June 15, 2010''; and
0
b. Removing the date ``June 30, 2010'' in paragraph (d) and adding in
its place ``December 15, 2010''.

    Note: The text of Form 20-F does not, and this amendment will
not, appear in the Code of Federal Regulations.

0
7. Form 40-F (referenced in Sec.  249.240f) is amended by:
0
a. Removing the date ``December 15, 2009'' in ``Instruction 3T(2)'' to
the ``Instructions to paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e) of General
Instruction B.(6)'' and adding in its place ``June 15, 2010''; and
0
b. Removing the date ``June 30, 2010'' in the paragraph following
``Instruction 3T'' to the ``Instructions to paragraphs (b), (c), (d),
and (e) of General Instruction B.(6)'' and adding in its place
``December 15, 2010''.

    Note: The text of Form 40-F does not, and this amendment will
not, appear in the Code of Federal Regulations.

0
8. Form 10-Q (referenced in Sec.  249.308a) is amended by revising Item
4T to Part I to read as follows:

    Note: The text of Form 10-Q does not, and this amendment will
not, appear in the Code of Federal Regulations.

Form 10-Q

* * * * *

Part I--Financial Information

* * * * *

Item 4T. Controls and Procedures.

    (a) If the registrant is neither a large accelerated filer nor an
accelerated filer as those terms are defined in Sec.  240.12b-2 of this
chapter, furnish the information required by Items 307 and 308T(b) of
Regulation S-K (17 CFR 229.307 and 229.308T(b)) with respect to a
quarterly report that the registrant is required to file for a fiscal
year ending on or after December 15, 2007 but before June 15, 2010.
    (b) This temporary Item 4T will expire on December 15, 2010.
* * * * *

0
9. Form 10-K (referenced in Sec.  249.310) is amended by:
0
a. Removing the date ``December 15, 2009'' in paragraph (a) to Item
9A(T) to Part II and adding in its place ``June 15, 2010''; and
0
b. Removing the date ``June 30, 2010'' in paragraph (b) to Item 9A(T)
to Part II and adding in its place ``December 15, 2010''.

    Note: The text of Form 10-K does not, and this amendment will
not, appear in the Code of Federal Regulations.

    Dated: October 13, 2009.

    By the Commission.
Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-24990 Filed 10-16-09; 8:45 am]

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