The Securities and Exchange Commission provided some long-overdue guidance in August about proper interpretations of Regulation Fair Disclosure—the first interpretive guidance for Reg FD since the rule went into effect in 2000. It’s a must-read for investor relations and corporate communication officers as well as corporate counsel.
To my thinking, no rule affects the day-to-day lives of investor relations officers more than Reg FD, especially when one remembers that in the landmark SEC enforcement against Flowserve Corp. in 2005, the IRO was cited and fined along with Flowserve’s chief executive for violating the rule. The pair met with a small group of analysts, and the director of investor relations remained silent while his CEO reaffirmed previously disclosed earnings guidance near the end of the company’s reporting period.
