Atkins: ‘Let the Market Decide’ Frequency of Corporate Financial Reporting

SEC Chair Atkins said that companies should determine how often they want to report publicly on their finances, in one of his first public remarks since the commission proposed allowing companies to optionally switch to reporting semiannually instead of quarterly.

“Let the market decide,” Atkins said during a Tuesday interview at the 2026 FINRA Annual Conference.

Cost Savings Debate

Atkins encouraged the public to offer feedback on the rule and pointed out that semiannual reporting has not caused significant problems in the U.K. and other markets where it is allowed. He added, however, that it is up to commenters to determine whether the available sample size of nations and companies reporting twice a year is adequate.

The SEC commissioner has repeatedly called for limits on mandatory corporate disclosures requirements, citing costs and the desire to make it easier for companies to become, and remain, publicly traded. During his FINRA interview, Atkins called initial public stock offerings the “lifeblood of our markets.”

Though a lighter reporting schedule would reduce costs and save companies time, it is unclear whether the reduction is significant enough to move the needle on the number of companies coming and staying public. The SEC’s proposed rule estimates that reporting twice a year would save companies nearly $198,000 per fiscal year in compliance costs.

“Having to get all those numbers together each quarter is a good exercise, and delaying it three months, I don’t know how much money it honestly saves,” says Rebecca Fike, a partner at Reed Smith, who defends companies against SEC enforcement actions. “I do worry a bit that you then have less confidence in or just less rigor around your regular reporting.”

Optionality

Though Atkins has made clear his desire for companies to make fewer disclosures, the proposal rule would leave it up to companies to decide if they report quarterly or twice a year.

According to Laura Posner, a partner in Cohen Milstein’s securities litigation and investor protection practice, the potential for companies to have different reporting periods then their peers, or switch between quarterly and semi-annual reporting, could make comparisons complicated for investors.

She says a reduced amount of information available to investors could damage confidence in financial markets and contribute to market volatility.

“This is not what companies want, it’s not what investors want and it’s not what is good for the markets,” Posner says.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, however, were among executives who have praised the SEC’s proposed change to quarterly reporting.