FORM 10-Q

Public companies are required by federal securities laws to disclose certain information from time to time. These disclosures are made on various forms prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and filed with the SEC on its online filing portal called Edgar. The information required to be disclosed is set forth in a complex set of rules prescribed by the SEC.

 

Form 10-Q is a public company’s quarterly report that must be filed within a certain time following the end of each of the company’s fiscal quarters (other than the fourth quarter, after which an annual report is filed on Form 10-K). In its Form 10-Q, a company is required to include similar information that is required in the company’s annual report on Form 10-K, although less detailed. Form 10-Q includes Information about the company’s business and financial status from the past fiscal quarter, including unaudited financial statements, operating results, and comparisons to the same period in the prior fiscal year.

 

Although the information required on Form 10-Q is less comprehensive than the annual reports on Form 10-K, preparing the reports remains a daunting task because the filing deadline is half the time granted for Form 10-K. We assist our public company clients by coordinating filing plans with the company and all of its advisors participating in the 10-Q process. These detailed plans include identifying information gathering and drafting responsibilities and deadlines aimed at fair disclosures made in a timely filing.

 

Additionally, we work closely with the company and its other advisors (such as its independent accountants) to develop strategies in drafting the various items required to be included and to resolve issues that arise during the audit and drafting process.

 

A blank copy of the actual Form 10-Q and instructions can be found here and you can search for a public company’s SEC filings on the Edgar site.