Materiality in SEC Reporting

This program is presented by George Wilson and it explores how we make materiality judgments in the SEC reporting process.  In this program you will explore various definitions of materiality and gain insight into making materiality judgments using the SEC’s guidance in Staff Accounting Bulletins and through lessons learned from SEC comment letters and enforcement cases.

During this course, you will:

• Watch videos of PLI faculty with experience and expertise in the field.
• Practice applying your knowledge to realistic hypotheticals.
• Review your understanding through interactive quizzes.

In order to complete the program you will need to:

• Watch all the videos
• Answer all questions
• Pass the final exam with a score of 80% or higher.

After completing this program, you will be able to:

• Enumerate the key definitions of materiality, 
• Apply the SEC’s guidance, particularly Staff Accounting Bulletins 99 and 108, when making materiality judgments, 
• Use example SEC comments to understand common problems in materiality judgments, and 
• Explain how to avoid SEC enforcement related to materiality issues by reviewing cases where companies did not exercise good judgment and did not prepare reasonable documentation.  

Program Level: Overview

Intended Audience: Accountants, CFOs, controllers and their staff, internal auditors, partners of public accounting firms and their staff, attorneys, general counsel, in-house counsel and corporate legal staff, investor relations professionals, and others who deal with SEC financial reporting and disclosure and related accounting issues

Prerequisites: None

Advance Preparation: None

Fields of Study: Accounting and SEC Reporting