The Commission’s EDGAR system ensures the relatively easy submission of filings to the Commission and quick retrieval of filings by the public. Few notice when it works, but the problems can be significant and potentially market moving if EDGAR’s systems are disrupted or breached. Today’s EDGAR Next rulemaking facilitates an important modernization of EDGAR. I hope—to quote the raven in Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem—that now we will be able to say “Nevermore” to unauthorized filings and, in the process, make life easier for authorized filers.[1]
To ensure that EDGAR Next achieves its promise as early and efficiently as possible, the implementation period is very important. Commenters already provided helpful feedback to the proposal, and I look forward to continued feedback from filers during the beta period. The Commission extended EDGAR Next’s beta period from the proposed 1 month to 6 months and is providing filers with a grace period to enroll in EDGAR Next after the 6-month enrollment period without filing a new Form ID. The Commission also was responsive to requests for application programming interfaces (“APIs”) to navigate EDGAR Next; the final rule offers twelve new APIs.
Despite the skill and dedication of the Commission’s EDGAR Business Office (“EBO”) staff, this undertaking is complex, and unforeseen problems may emerge during the onboarding process or as people begin to use the new filing tools. To facilitate the smooth operation of EDGAR Next, I encourage the filer community to raise any concerns early and often. Today’s rule is responsive to commenters, and I expect the Commission to be similarly responsive to concerns after today. In addition to contacting the EBO directly at EDGARNextBeta@sec.gov with any feedback, please feel free to contact my office at CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov.
Thank you to the EDGAR Business Office, including Jed Hickman, Rosemary Filou, Daniel Chang, Laurita Finch, Jane Patterson, Margaret Marrero, and Lidian Pereira, along with Mika Morse in the Chair’s office, and staff in the Office of the General Counsel, and the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis.
[1] Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven (1845).
