By Steve Quinlivan, Cate Heaven Young and Bryan Pitko ( September 12, 2018, 1:03 PM EDT) -- In view of a number of changes to the regulatory landscape in recent months, public companies should consider planning for the upcoming proxy season early in the fall of 2018. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been particularly active adopting rules and regulations in a number of areas that substantially impact reporting for public companies, including with respect to disclosure simplification, expanded availability of smaller reporting company (SRC) status and adoption of Inline XBRL, or extensible business reporting language. The IRS also issued guidance on Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, which not only affects executive compensation in general, but also proxy statement disclosures and officers' and directors' questionnaires. We have set forth below significant considerations for the upcoming proxy season in light of these new developments and other near-term compliance matters so public companies can develop a plan in a timely manner to successfully prepare for the next proxy season....