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SEC final rule: Management's Discussion and Analysis, Selected Financial Data, and Supplementary Financial Information

The November 2020 final rule that removed Item 301 of Regulation S K, the Selected Financial Data table that Form 10 K Item 6 once carried, and amended the MD&A requirement in Item 303.

On this page
  1. What the Commission adopted
  2. Item 301 held the five-year table
  3. Why the Commission removed it
  4. What a reader sees now
  5. What was checked
Authority and currency

About this authority

Publisher
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Standing
Primary authority
Version
Release No. 33-10890; 34-90459; IC-34100; File No. S7-01-20, conformed to the Federal Register version
Relevant parts
Cover page (release numbers, SUMMARY, DATES); Section II.A, Selected Financial Data (Item 301); signature block dated November 19, 2020
Currency
current · checked Sep 13, 2026

Open the primary source

What the Commission adopted

The release is numbered 33-10890, 34-90459, and IC-34100, under file number S7-01-20. Its SUMMARY says the Commission is "eliminating the requirement for Selected Financial Data, streamlining the requirement to disclose Supplementary Financial Information, and amending Management's Discussion & Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." The Commission adopted it on November 19, 2020. The final rules took effect on February 10, 2021.

Item 301 held the five-year table

Section II.A describes what Item 301 required before the change. A company gave selected financial data "in comparative tabular form for each of the registrant's last five fiscal years," plus any further years needed to keep the table from being misleading. Instruction 1 said the purpose was to supply selected data that highlights significant trends in a convenient and readable format. Smaller reporting companies were not required to provide it.

Why the Commission removed it

The release gives two reasons for the proposal. Advances in technology since the item was adopted in 1970 allow easy access to the earlier years on EDGAR. And Item 301 was meant to bring out material trends, which Item 303 already requires a company to discuss. Under "Final Amendments" the Commission writes: "We are adopting the amendments to eliminate Item 301 as proposed." It acknowledges that the earlier two years can help illustrate a trend, and answers that the disclosure is typically available in prior filings on EDGAR.

The release also notes that registrants are encouraged to continue presenting this kind of information where it helps a reader, even though it is no longer required.

What a reader sees now

Form 10-K Item 6 is the slot that carried Selected Financial Data. The form now prints "Item 6. [Reserved]" and § 229.301 of the pinned Regulation S-K snapshot reads "[Reserved]" as well. The Item number stays in place, so the Items after it keep their numbers.

What was checked

The conformed final-rule PDF was retrieved from sec.gov on September 13, 2026 and read as text. The cover page supplied the release numbers, the SUMMARY, and the February 10, 2021 effective date; the signature block supplied the November 19, 2020 adoption date. The current state of § 229.301 was read from sources/artifacts/sec/regulation-sk-2026-08-01.xml, and the Form 10-K Item 6 line from sources/artifacts/sec/session-05/aapl-20250927.htm.