Scott Ellis on New SEC Reporting Plan and Implications for the Energy Sector
Foley & Lardner LLP partner Scott Ellis spoke to Law360 for the article, “New SEC Reporting Plan May Not Sway Energy Cos.,” discussing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed shift from a quarterly to a semiannual earnings reporting schedule for public companies.
“You might have situations where you have contracts that require some credit-worthiness — if the contracts require a company to provide the quarterly filings, what happens when the quarterly filings aren’t required, at least to the government?” Ellis commented. “Will you basically be having to do it anyway because of the way the contract is written?”
He also explained that energy companies, specifically ones operating across multiple states, might also have to comply with various state and local reporting obligations.
“Some of those jurisdictions, the taxing authorities, permitting authorities, environmental authorities, require that you submit quarterly filings, and often are satisfied by just submitting your 10-Q,” Ellis added, highlighting the additional complexity for multistate operators.
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