SEC Advisory Committee on Smaller Companies Publishes Agenda, Identifies Witness Panels, for Chicago Meeting
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2005-111
Washington, D.C., Aug. 8, 2005 - The Securities and Exchange Commission's Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies today the agenda and witness list for its two day meeting at the John Marshall School of Law in Chicago on August 9 and 10, 2005.
The agenda includes consideration, and possible adoption, of two recommendations. One recommendation would endorse a further delay by the SEC in enforcing compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Act internal control requirements by smaller companies. Another recommendation would define the "smaller public companies" and "microcap companies" for which the Advisory Committee would provide specific recommendations in the future.
The witnesses include officers of small cap companies and other persons knowledgeable about securities regulation of small cap companies.
The Advisory Committee was established by the SEC to examine the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other federal securities laws on smaller companies. The Committee's mission is to provide recommendations to the SEC to assure that the costs and burdens of federal securities regulation for smaller companies are commensurate with the benefits to investors and the public. The Committee is expected to present its final report to the Commission in April 2006.
The Chicago meeting will be the third public meeting of the Advisory Committee. The Committee will hear from witnesses from 1:00 to 5:30 p.m. on August 9. The Committee will conduct a business session on August 10 from 1:00 to 5:30 p.m. Both sessions will be held in Room 300 of the John Marshall School of Law, 315 South Plymouth Court, Chicago. The public is welcome to attend both sessions, and both will be audio webcast on the Commission's website at www.sec.gov.
The agenda for the meeting, including information on composition of the witness panels, follows:
August 9, 2005, 1:00-5:30 p.m.
I. Co-Chairs' Introductory Remarks
James C. Thyen, Herbert S. Wander
II. First Panel of Witnesses:
David Bochnowski, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Peoples Bank, Munster, Indiana (testifying on behalf of the America's Community Bankers)
Donald S. Perkins, former Chair, Jewel Companies Inc., experienced public company director, Chicago, Illinois
Mark Schroeder, Chief Executive Officer, German American Bancorp, Jasper, Indiana
Mark T. Spears, Chief Financial Officer, LKQ Corporation, Chicago, Illinois
III. Break
IV. Second Panel of Witnesses:
James P. Hickey, Principal, Co-Head of Technology Group, William Blair & Company
Michael K. Molitor, Law Professor, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Joseph A. Stieven, Financial Analyst, Stifel Nicolaus, St. Louis, Missouri
Bill Travis, Managing Partner, McGladery & Pullen LLP, Minneapolis, Minnesota
V. Adjournment
August 10, 2005, 1:00-5:30 p.m.
I. Discussion of Witness Presentations and Written Statements
Received for Meeting
II. Reports of Subcommittee Activities
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting, Janet Dolan
Capital Formation, E. David Coolidge, III
Accounting Standards, Leroy Dennis
Corporate Governance and Disclosure, Richard M. Jaffee
III. Break
IV. Report of Recommendation of Subcommittee on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting on Extending Compliance Date for Certain Companies to Meet Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Requirements
Janet Dolan, Richard D. Brounstein
V. Report of Recommendation of "Size" Task Force on Definition of "Smaller Public Company"
James C. Thyen, Alex Davern
VI. Next Steps
San Francisco Meeting
VII. Adjournment
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2005-111.htm
