The impact of SEC Deadline: Does Accelerated SEC Filing Deadlines for Publicly Traded Companies Increase Restatements of Financial Statements?

This paper examines the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) requirement of the 10-K filing deadlines and how the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) regulations can cause an increase in the likelihood of misstatements in financial reporting by publicly traded companies. The SEC shortening the deadline time frame had a negative impact on smaller companies since auditors were focusing more on larger companies to get the report done in an effective and timely manner. Investors, in turn, perceive smaller companies as having internal control weaknesses due to being late to file their reports. Data will be collected from all 10-K filing deadlines starting in the year 2021 to determine the percentage of misstated financial statements. Findings will show that accelerated filers will have a higher percentage of misstatements due to the burden of the SEC accelerated filing deadline.