Implications of the 2012 JOBS Act for Investors

摘要

The 2012 Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act was designed to stimulate investment by encouraging start-up and smaller companies to seek capital infusions in the public markets and to boost market participation of smaller investors. It offers multiple new opportunities for start-up and smaller businesses to access capital markets without the costly and time-consuming administrative burdens commonly associated with initial public offerings. To accomplish this, the Act simplified financial reporting requirements and eliminated a number of the investor safeguards previously offered under securities regulations and afforded by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The implications of the changes are far-reaching, not only for the entrepreneurs targeted by the JOBS Act, but also for crowdfunding intermediaries, prospective investors, and the auditors who may eventually have to express opinions on the financial statements of these companies.