The Effects of the Accelerated Deadline on Form 20-F Filing Lags Among U.S.- Listed Foreign Firms

Abstract

The primary objectives of this research are to investigate the impact of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) accelerated deadline on foreign firms’ 20-F filing practices and factors relating to the filing lags. Based on a sample of 338 U.S.-listed foreign firms, our results indicate that there is a significant reduction in the filing lags and a change in their distribution for fiscal year 2011, as compared to the preceding year, and as intended by the SEC. We also find that 20-F filing lags are negatively related to the use of IFRS or U.S.-GAAP in 20-F reports and the use of English language in foreign firms’ home countries. Finally, we find a significant negative relationship between 20-F filing lags and foreign countries’ legal strength for fiscal year 2010. Consistent with the ineffective bonding results in prior studies, our results also reveal that the new accelerated filing deadline has not strengthened the bonding effect significantly for fiscal year 2011.

Keywords: SEC, accelerated deadline, 20-F, foreign firms, IFRS, bonding