The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday voted to propose rule amendments to modernize the description of business, legal proceedings, and risk factor disclosures that registrants are required to make under Regulation S-K.

The SEC said the proposed amendments are intended to improve disclosures for investors and simplify compliance efforts for registrants.

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...