The SEC Filing Review Process: Insights from Accounting Research

Abstract

As part of the goal of enhancing the quality of information available to investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reviews filings to identify disclosures or accounting applications that may be materially deficient or require additional clarification. Because of an increasing public interest in this SEC filing review process and its substantial costs involved, to both the SEC in reviewing and to companies in responding, a growing body of literature examines the determinants and outcomes of this process. In this paper, we review prior literature and identify significant gaps that should be addressed in future research. We also detail the institutional features of the SEC filing review process that affect research design for academic studies and provide example SAS codes. Our findings should be of interest to both academics and market participants evaluating the efficacy of the SEC filing review process.

Keywords: comment letters; filing review process; Securities and Exchange Commission; SEC

JEL Classification: G18, M41, M48, L51