Bringing SEC Comment Letters into the Classroom

Abstract

This instructional resource provides a detailed look at using SEC comment letters in the accounting classroom. An SEC comment letter is the first step in a conversation between the SEC and a public company filer. The SEC asks for more explanation about the company’s reporting choices, and the company carefully responds to the SEC after considering the nature of the request. On the whole, correspondence between the SEC and companies can be extremely interesting to read, and very useful for keeping current with financial reporting developments (and gaining expertise). This article describes general methods for using SEC comment letters in the classroom, and provides detailed examples in the form of eight specific case studies. Each case or example relates to a communication between the SEC and a single company. Accounting instructors can benefit by using the eight cases developed in the paper, or by using the resources and methods described to create their own evolving set of cases.