SEC announces 21st Century Disclosure Initiative

The SEC announced today that it is starting a six month study of its disclosure system and how technology can improve the quality of information for investors. It looks like they are undertaking a fundamental rethinking of the way they acquire and disseminate public company information. Quoting from the press release, the SEC says the study will include a review of all existing SEC forms and reporting requirements. It will look at how to integrate public disclosure with the SEC’s new XBRL initiative and it will consider ways that the regulatory requirements might be changed to improve real-time distribution of both financial and narrative disclosure to investors.

The study is being lead by Prof. William Lutz, the author of Doublespeak Defined. He worked with the SEC on their Plain English Handbook. Prof. Lutz spoke about doublespeak at Baruch's College Convocation in 2005.