• Learn the corporate disclosure rules for public companiessecretary image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
  
  One of the most important things to consider when investing in a company is whether or not their finances, management and investment options are sound and aboveboard legally. In the United States, any publicly held company (meaning a company that offers shares of its common stock for sale on the general market) must conform to certain disclosure requirements regarding aspects of their company's operation. These disclosure requirements allow investors to make sound financial choices about the company, and also discourage fraud or other problems by making the company honestly and accurately report the way that they are transacting business.
  
  

Reporting Shares of Stock

• Shares of stock held and traded by board members, directors and owners of a company who are holding more than 10 percent of the stock in that company must typically be reported within 10 days after the end of the month in which the shares were sold. Such trading is called "insider trading." This is mandated by the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, and it helps those outside of the company see what the owners are doing--selling large numbers of shares in preparation for a potential bankruptcy, for example--and take action based on that. In 2010, the SEC proposed moving up this reporting requirement to remove some of the delay in reporting and allow for more accurate and timely information, but no changes have been made as of May 2010.
  
  

Reporting Assets and Holdings

• Companies are also required to file annual and quarterly reports of their various holdings, liquidity and off-shore investments. These are typically due within 30 days after the end of the quarter which is being reported on, and in the case of the annual reports, within 90 days. The SEC is also considering moving this reporting time up--in the case of annual reports, for example, to 60 days instead of 90. Doing so would again allow for timely disbursal of information to shareholders and potential investors.
  
  

Website Accessibility

• As of May 2010, SEC is also in the process of changing the laws to require that all of this information be made available to investors in varying geographic areas through the use of the company's website. By doing so, potential investors and shareholders will no longer have to wait for a paper copy of the annual and quarterly reports to arrive in the mail, and will have more up-to-date information with which to make their investing decisions in a timely fashion.