Greenlighting Growth Act

The Greenlighting Growth Act changes what financial statements smaller, newer public companies (called “emerging growth companies”) must file. It limits how much financial information they need to give the SEC, especially for companies they have bought.

An emerging growth company does not have to include financial statements from acquired companies for any time before the earliest audited period shown with its IPO. The same idea applies when it applies to list on a stock exchange. If a company stops being an emerging growth company later, it still does not have to provide financial statements from before that earliest audited period.

• Who is affected: Emerging growth companies (smaller, newer public companies) and companies that used to be emerging growth companies.
• What changes: Less historical financial information is required, including skipping acquired companies’ statements from before the earliest audited period shown with the IPO or listing application; this continues even after the company is no longer an emerging growth company.
• Where it applies: SEC filings and stock exchange listing applications.