Failure of Public Companies to File Exchange Act Reports

A few months ago, I subscribed to the SEC News Digest, a daily report on the SEC’s actions.  One recurring item in those reports has amazed me: the number of delistings and trading suspensions resulting from the failure of reporting companies to file required Exchange Act reports.  Here are latest two examples.

I didn’t realize how many public companies fail to file reports.  I haven’t been counting, but the SEC seems to report at least a couple of suspensions each week.  I don’t know if it’s because of recent economic events, or if this has always been the case, but the number is surprising.

And  a company can apparently get away with not filing reports for some time before the SEC takes formal action.  The two companies noted in the report above “have not filed periodic reports with the Commission in over two years.”

-Steve Bradford