The SEC has proposed a new rule (Rule 10D-1) and rule amendments that would require national securities exchanges and national securities associations to establish listing standards requiring each issuer listed on its exchange to develop and implement a policy that provides for the recovery of incentive-based compensation that was erroneously awarded to its officers (a “clawback” policy). Issuers would also be required to file the policy to the SEC as an exhibit to its annual report and to include additional disclosures within both their annual report and their proxy statements regarding clawback actions taken by the company.

A new form for money market funds that was finalized by the SEC in Release 33-9616 (Money Market Fund Reform; Amendments to Form PF) recently became effective for filing to EDGAR. This form, Form N-CR, has raised questions from preparers and registrants alike who want to know more about the form, when it should be filed, and how to file it.

The XBRL US Center for Data Quality has launched a public review for seven proposed validation rules. These rules are available for comment by public companies, data providers, analysts and XBRL providers for sixty days and pertain to providing validation tests for XBRL errors.

On April 29, the SEC proposed new rules to require companies to disclose the relationship between their executive pay and their financial performance. The goal is to provide shareholders with a new metric to assess a company’s executive compensation relative to its performance and to be able to compare that metric across a peer group. This would also provide shareholders additional information to increase transparency and help better inform them when they vote to elect directors or vote on executive compensation.

On May 20, the Securities and Exchange Commission published a proposed rule (Release Number 33-9776) that would modernize information reported to the EDGAR System by investment companies and investment advisers. Reporting for mutual funds, ETFs, and registered investment companies would be enhanced through new forms and amendments.

On May 20, the Securities and Exchange Commission published a proposed rule (Release Number IA-4091) to amend certain rules under the Investment Advisers Act. The aim of the changes is to fill data gaps, to enhance reporting requirements, and to allow for “umbrella registration” for private fund advisers.

One of the more challenging aspects of preparing XBRL reports for the SEC is the uncertainty that comes with how that report will view when stakeholders, clients or investors open that data in the SEC’s Interactive Data Viewer. It can be discouraging to put the final touches on a 10-Q or 10-K only to find that something doesn’t look quite right when you send it to the SEC’s previewer or - even worse - to the EDGAR System. What looked completely fine in your editor suddenly doesn’t look anything like the report you were editing.