SEC Considers New Disclosure Rules

The SEC plans to consider new rules that would make companies disclose critical accounting policies they used when assembling financial statements for investors.

The agency released a statement Wednesday while House Financial Services Committee members held the first congressional hearing to examine the collapse of Houston energy trader Enron Corp. (ticker symbol: ENE), which fell into bankruptcy after changes in accounting decisions wiped $586 million of income off its books since 1997. The SEC cautioned companies that investors “deserve and demand full transparency of accounting policies.”