The members of Maynard Cooper’s Public Company Advisory Practice continue to monitor the business and legal implications of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation so that we can advise public companies, as well as companies aiming to become public, on actions needed. We hope all of our clients and friends remain safe and in good health during this trying time. As a continued service to our clients, we provide a quarterly summary of important developments affecting public companies. Top trending items for the first quarter of 2020 are listed below (in chronological order and with embedded links to the source materials):

• The NYSE issued its annual compliance letter to listed companies. (January 9, 2020)
• Blackrock published its annual letter to CEOs. (January 30, 2020)
• The SEC proposed additional changes to modernize, simplify, and enhance certain financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K. (January 30, 2020)
• The SEC issued guidance on the disclosure of key performance indicators and metrics. (January 30, 2020)
• The SEC issued a statement on the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on financial reporting. (February 19, 2020)
• The SEC adopted amendments to the financial disclosure requirements applicable to registered debt offerings that include credit enhancements, such as subsidiary guarantees. (March 2, 2020)
• The SEC extended filing deadlines and gave other guidance for companies affected by the COVID-19.(March 4, 2020)
• The SEC proposed a set of amendments that would harmonize, simplify, and improve the exempt offering framework to promote capital formation. (March 4, 2020)
• Audit Analytics published its Updated Overview of Critical Audit Matters (CAMs). (March 4, 2020)
• ISS issued its climate proxy voting guidelines for the 2020 proxy season. (March 9, 2020)
• The SEC adopted amendments to the accelerated filer and large accelerated filer definitions. (March 12, 2020)
• Equilar published its COVID-19 Disclosure Report. (March 17, 2020)
• Blackrock published its Investment Stewardship Engagement Priorities for 2020. (March 18, 2020)
• The NACD published its Directors COVID-19 Pulse Survey. (March 19, 2020)
• The PCAOB announced its decision to provide public company audit firms with an opportunity for 45-day relief from inspections. (March 23, 2020)
• The SEC Staff issued a statement relaxing the authentication document retention requirements under Regulation S-T and addressing other logistical issues in light of the COVID-19 crisis. (March 24, 2020)
• The SEC provided additional relief for SEC registrants affected by COVID-19. (March 25, 2020) See Maynard Cooper’s commentary.
• The SEC issued CF Disclosure Guidance Topic No. 9 to provide additional guidance for SEC registrants affected by COVID-19. (March 25, 2020) See Maynard Cooper’s commentary.

For additional information about any of the above developments, or to discuss any questions that you may have, please contact a member of Maynard Cooper’s Public Company Advisory Group.

This client alert is for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.
The information in this client alert is not intended to create and will not constitute as a lawyer-client relationship.

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