The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Friday it is streamlining the registration process to make it easier for corporations to file annual reports and other requirements.
It said it issued rules to integrate certain reportorial requirements with the registration process and provide for the automatic enrollment of newly-registered corporations in its online submission portal.
“Corporations’ reportorial and other regulatory requirements provide vital information and insights to policymakers, regulators, law enforcers, businesses, investors and other stakeholders,” SEC chairperson Emilio Aquino said.
“In this light, we are making it easier for corporations to comply with these requirements, as well as for stakeholders to access and use them to inform their decisions and actions,” he said.
Under the new rules, new corporations will no longer have to submit separate reports for their official and alternate email addresses and mobile phone numbers as well as information on their beneficial owners.
They will be required to provide such information during the registration process either through the SEC’s Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC) or the One-Day Submission and E-registration of Companies (OneSEC).
New corporations will be automatically enrolled in Electronic Filing and Submission Tool (eFAST), the SEC’s online system for submission of reportorial requirements.
Following the launch of eFAST in 2021, all registered corporations were required to submit their annual reportorial requirements such as the general information sheet and annual financial statements using eFAST.
Corporations previously had to undergo a separate enrollment process for their company accounts and authorized filer accounts before they could submit their reports using eFAST.
The SEC it would continuously improve its processes to ensure the ease of forming a corporation and complying with regulatory requirements.
The submission of such information forms part of the SEC’s efforts to guard against the misuse of the corporate vehicle against money laundering and terrorist financing activities by having access to adequate, accurate and timely information on beneficial ownership and control of corporations.