SEC Division of Trading and Markets no-action letter: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

D IVISION OF
UN ITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASH INGTON , DC 20549
October 29, 2018 TRADING AND MARKETS
Ms. Ann Duguid, Senior Director
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
Brookfield Place
200 Liberty Street - 9th Floor
New York, New York 10281
Re: Implementation of Effective Date of Disclosure Update and Simplification Adopting Release for Broker-Dealer Reports Dear Ms. Duguid:
On August 17, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") adopted Securities Act Release No. 33-10532, Disclosure Update and Simplification, which included amendments regarding the reporting of extraordinary gains or losses, the cumulative effect of changes in accounting principles, and comprehensive income on the annual reports required by paragraph (d) of Securities Exchange Act Rule l 7a-5 (17 CFR § 240. l 7a-5) ("Rule 17a-5") and Parts II, IIA, and JIB of Form X-17A-5 (the "FOCUS Report(s)"). The amendments will become effective for all filings made on or after November 5, 2018. In light of the timing of effectiveness of the amendments and time needed to modify reporting systems to reflect changes to the FOCUS Reports, the staff will not recommend enforcement action to the Commission ifa broker-dealer continues to file the FOCUS Report and the Rule l 7a-5 annual report as required prior to these amendments when reporting for periods ending on or before December 31, 2018. Therefore, this staff no-action position is not applicable to FOCUS Reports and annual reports covering reporting periods ending after December 31, 2018. This staff position is based strictly on the facts in this letter, and any different facts or representations might require a different staff position. The statements in this letter represent the views of the staff and are subject to modification or revocation at any time. Furthermore, this letter expresses the staffs position on enforcement action only and does not purport to express any legal conclusions on the questions presented. · The staff expresses no view with respect to any other questions, including the applicability of any other federal or state laws, or self￾regulatory organization rules. If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Thomas McGowan at (202) 551-5521, Valentina Minak Deng at (202) 551-5778, or me at (202) 551-5525. i~n VIA---- Michael A. Macchiaroli, Associate Director Division ofTrading and Markets