Trump Wants SEC to End Quarterly Reporting for U.S. Businesses

President Trump on Friday called on financial regulators to consider allowing public companies to share information with the public less often, a potentially major shakeup of corporate America.

“That would allow greater flexibility & save money,” Trump said in a tweet.

Currently, publicly-traded companies must file quarterly reports, disclosing extensive details about their operations, including profits and revenue. But some chief executives have complained that these type of requirements lead them to focus on short-term profits rather than the long-term health of their companies.

In his tweet, Trump said that the Securities and Exchange Commission should consider moving the reporting requirement to every six months instead of every three. Trump said the proposal follows conversations with the “world’s top business leaders” about how to “make business (jobs) even better in the U.S.”

The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The proposal is likely to be lambasted by shareholder advocates, who in recent years have called on corporations to share more information with the public not less.

It also comes as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has proposed forcing companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue to weigh the interests of all stakeholders — including workers and local communities, in addition to shareholders — in its decision-making. Under the proposal, workers would elect 40 percent of the directors and three-fourths of directors and shareholders would need to sign off on political expenditures.

The proposals offer drastically different approaches to addressing corporations’ reliance on reaching short-term goals to satisfy investors.

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