New York SBDC Research Network

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously to propose rules under the JOBS Act to permit companies to offer and sell securities through crowdfunding. "Consistent with the JOBS Act, the proposed rules would among other things permit individuals to invest subject to certain thresholds, limit the amount of money a company can raise, require companies to disclose certain information about their offers, and create a regulatory framework for the intermediaries that would facilitate the crowdfunding transactions." Note the SEC is "seeking public comment on the proposed rules for a 90-day period," which will end sometime in mid-January. See more from the SEC .

In just a few months, some of the largest public corporations in the United States will begin submitting their financial filings to the Securities & Exchange Commission using XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language.) In December 2008, the Securities & Exchange Commission mandated a phase-in period, starting June 15, 2009, of using interactive data, which uses XBRL, for financial filings made by public companies and mutual funds with the SEC. The use of XBRL is expected to reduce filing costs, increase productivity, improve data quality and analysis and allow for direct comparability. The SEC’s announcement included the following: "The availability of financial reports in the form of interactive data will transform how investors evaluate companies and securities and, more broadly, transform the relationship between the filer and the investor. Markets depend on and improve with better information, and even more so in difficult times. This action by the Commission is t...