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Vertical guide · Updated June 2026

Public company disclosure attorney time tracking: Form 10-K annual report advisory, Form 10-Q quarterly report advisory, and Form 8-K material event advisory

Public company disclosure attorneys advising SEC-reporting companies on periodic reporting obligations under Exchange Act §§ 13 and 15(d) — including Form 10-K Annual Reports under Rule 13a-1, 17 C.F.R. § 240.13a-1, Form 10-Q Quarterly Reports under Rule 13a-13, 17 C.F.R. § 240.13a-13, and Form 8-K Current Reports under Rule 13a-11, 17 C.F.R. § 240.13a-11 — whose time records must satisfy the SEC periodic reporting disclosure counsel documentation standard and the Regulation S-K materiality analysis required in any securities litigation or SEC enforcement proceeding arising from the company's disclosures — generate three billing gaps driven by the concentrated January–March Form 10-K filing deadline window, the recurring quarterly Form 10-Q filing deadline cycles in May, August, and November, and the event-driven Form 8-K filing deadlines that arrive on the company's operational calendar without coordination with outside counsel's billing schedule: Form 10-K annual report advisory calls on the SEC filing deadline calendar (3 clients × 4 calls × 55 min × 55% untracked ≈ 6.0 hrs = $2,700–$4,500/year at $450–$750/hr), Form 10-Q quarterly report advisory calls on the quarterly filing deadline calendar (3 clients × 3 calls × 42 min × 55% per quarter × 3 quarters ≈ 10.4 hrs/year = $4,680–$7,800/year at $450–$750/hr), and Form 8-K material event disclosure advisory calls on the event-driven filing calendar (3 clients × 4 calls × 38 min × 55% ≈ 4.2 hrs = $1,890–$3,150/year at $450–$750/hr). For a public company disclosure solo practice, the annual billing gap is $9,270–$15,450.

TL;DR

ClaimHour captures every Form 10-K MD&A scope and ICFR assessment advisory call that arrives in the concentrated January–March annual report deadline window, every Form 10-Q interim MD&A and certification advisory call that arrives in May, August, and November on the quarterly filing deadline calendar, and every Form 8-K triggering event materiality and Regulation FD compliance advisory call that arrives without advance notice on the company's operational calendar — passively, no timer, no audio, no call contents. $29–$59/mo. No PMS required.

Form 10-K annual report advisory: calls on the SEC filing deadline calendar

SEC-reporting public companies — including companies registered under Exchange Act § 12(b) or § 12(g) and companies with reporting obligations under Exchange Act § 15(d) — must file their Annual Report on Form 10-K with the SEC within 60 days of fiscal year end for large accelerated filers (public float of $700 million or more as of the last business day of the most recently completed second fiscal quarter), 75 days for accelerated filers (public float between $75 million and $700 million), and 90 days for non-accelerated filers (public float below $75 million) under Exchange Act Rule 13a-1, 17 C.F.R. § 240.13a-1. Because the vast majority of public companies — particularly smaller reporting companies and emerging growth companies likely to retain solo outside disclosure counsel — use December 31 fiscal year ends, the Form 10-K filing deadline concentrates in a compressed January–March window for all calendar-year public company clients simultaneously, creating a periodic billing gap driven by the simultaneous concentration of Form 10-K advisory calls from all calendar-year clients in the same window. The Form 10-K annual report advisory call burden covers four major disclosure components that require outside counsel's substantive review: (1) Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) under Regulation S-K Item 303, which must discuss known trends and uncertainties that will have a material effect on the company's financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations in future periods; (2) Risk Factors under Regulation S-K Item 1A, which must disclose specific risks facing the company (not generic industry risks) with sufficient specificity to alert investors to the material risks pursuant to SEC Release 33-10825 (Risk Factor Modernization); (3) Management's Assessment of Disclosure Controls and Procedures and Internal Control over Financial Reporting under Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 13a-15(c), including disclosure of any material weaknesses identified through the annual ICFR assessment; and (4) Certifications of the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer under Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 13a-14(b) (the Sarbanes-Oxley § 302 and § 906 certifications attesting to the accuracy of the disclosures and the effectiveness of the disclosure controls).

Four Form 10-K annual report advisory call types that arrive on the SEC filing deadline calendar: (1) fiscal year-end MD&A scope and materiality threshold advisory call — arrives in January when outside counsel must advise on the scope of the MD&A's required disclosures, the materiality threshold for disclosure of known trends and uncertainties under Regulation S-K Item 303's quantitative and qualitative factors (as interpreted by the SEC in Interpretive Release 34-48960 (MD&A) and the SEC's 2020 MD&A modernization release, SEC Release 33-10890), and whether forward-looking statements in the MD&A qualify for the safe harbor under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act § 21E, 15 U.S.C. § 78u-5, when accompanied by meaningful cautionary language in the risk factor disclosures (50–62 min) — arriving in the January–February window for calendar-year companies; (2) risk factor review and specificity assessment advisory call — arrives in January–February when outside counsel must review the Part I, Item 1A risk factor disclosures for compliance with the SEC's specificity requirement (SEC Release 33-10825's instruction to eliminate generic risk factors that could apply to any company and to disclose the specific risks facing the company), and advise on any new risk factors required by developments in the fiscal year (new regulatory requirements, litigation, cybersecurity incidents, supply chain disruptions, or material customer or supplier concentrations) (50–62 min); (3) disclosure controls and ICFR assessment advisory call — arrives in February–March when outside counsel must advise on the management's evaluation of the effectiveness of the company's disclosure controls and procedures under Rule 13a-15(a) and (b) as of fiscal year end, the ICFR assessment under Rule 13a-15(c) (including whether any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses identified by the company's external auditor or internal audit function require disclosure as a material weakness in the annual report), and the auditor's attestation report on the ICFR assessment required for large accelerated filers under Sarbanes-Oxley § 404(b) (50–62 min); (4) SEC staff comment letter response advisory call — arrives in February–March when outside counsel reviews the Form 10-K for consistency with any prior SEC Division of Corporation Finance comment letters on the company's periodic filings, advises on the risk of an anticipated SEC staff review of the annual report's treatment of significant accounting policies, non-GAAP financial measures, and critical accounting estimates, and drafts or reviews any response letters to SEC staff comments on prior annual or quarterly reports (50–62 min). At 55% untracked: 3 clients × 4 calls × 55 min × 55% = 363 min / 60 ≈ 6.0 hours = $2,700–$4,500/year at $450–$750/hr.

Form 10-Q quarterly report advisory: calls on the quarterly filing deadline calendar

SEC-reporting companies must file their Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q with the SEC within 40 days of the end of each fiscal quarter for large accelerated and accelerated filers, or within 45 days for non-accelerated filers, under Exchange Act Rule 13a-13, 17 C.F.R. § 240.13a-13. Quarterly reports are required for the first three quarters of each fiscal year — with the fourth quarter covered by the Form 10-K annual report — creating three separate quarterly filing deadlines for calendar-year public companies: (1) the first quarter Form 10-Q, due 40 or 45 days after March 31 (May 10 or May 15); (2) the second quarter Form 10-Q, due 40 or 45 days after June 30 (August 9 or August 14); and (3) the third quarter Form 10-Q, due 40 or 45 days after September 30 (November 9 or November 14). Because each calendar-year public company client has three separate quarterly filing deadlines and each quarterly filing requires outside counsel's review of the same set of disclosure issues — the interim MD&A, the contingent liability disclosures, and the CEO and CFO certifications — a solo disclosure attorney with three calendar-year public company clients will receive nine quarterly advisory calls per year, each arriving on a fixed external calendar date that is not coordinated with other billing obligations.

Three Form 10-Q quarterly report advisory call types per quarter that arrive on the quarterly filing deadline calendar: (1) interim MD&A and contingent liability disclosure advisory call — arrives in the final 2 weeks before each quarterly filing deadline when outside counsel must advise on the quarterly MD&A's coverage of the Regulation S-K Item 303 disclosure requirements for interim periods (including the requirement to discuss material changes in results of operations for the fiscal quarter and year-to-date periods compared to the prior-year periods), the disclosure of contingent liabilities under ASC Topic 450 (Contingencies) that are reasonably possible or probable of assertion as of the quarter end (including new litigation filed during the quarter, regulatory investigations initiated during the quarter, and warranty or product liability claims exceeding the accrual threshold), and whether any developments in the quarter constitute known trends or uncertainties requiring disclosure as forward-looking guidance under Item 303(b)(2)(ii) (38–46 min) — arriving on the fixed quarterly filing deadline calendar in May, August, and November; (2) disclosure controls certification and quarterly ICFR evaluation advisory call — arrives in the 2 weeks before the quarterly filing deadline when outside counsel must advise on the adequacy of the CEO and CFO certifications under Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 13a-14(b) (the quarterly Sarbanes-Oxley § 302 and § 906 certifications) — which certify that the quarterly report does not contain any untrue statement of material fact, that the financial statements and other financial information in the report fairly present the company's financial condition, and that the certifying officers have disclosed to the audit committee any significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the ICFR — and whether any changes in the ICFR that occurred during the fiscal quarter materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect the company's ICFR, requiring disclosure under Rule 13a-15(d) (38–46 min); (3) SEC staff review risk and attorney review certification advisory call — arrives in the final days before the quarterly filing deadline when outside counsel must assess the quarterly report's treatment of any developments that may attract SEC Division of Corporation Finance staff review under the Corp Fin selective review program (including non-GAAP financial measures, related party disclosures, and significant accounting policy changes), advise on whether any item in the quarterly report should have been disclosed on Form 8-K in the quarter (triggering an inquiry about whether a missed 4-business-day Form 8-K deadline creates a reporting delinquency under Exchange Act Rule 13a-11), and review the exhibit index for the inclusion of required certifications (38–46 min). At 55% untracked per quarter: 3 clients × 3 calls × 42 min × 55% = 207.9 min / 60 ≈ 3.5 hours per quarter × 3 quarters = 10.4 hours/year = $4,680–$7,800/year at $450–$750/hr.

Form 8-K material event advisory: calls on the event-driven filing calendar

Public companies must file a Current Report on Form 8-K within 4 business days of the occurrence of any reportable event listed under Form 8-K Items 1.01 through 9.01 under Exchange Act Rule 13a-11, 17 C.F.R. § 240.13a-11. The 25 disclosure categories triggering Form 8-K filing obligations span a wide range of corporate events that occur without coordination with outside counsel's billing schedule: the entry into material definitive agreements (Item 1.01), completion of acquisitions or dispositions of assets (Item 2.01), creation of direct financial obligations (Item 2.03), triggering of an accelerating event in off-balance sheet arrangements (Item 2.04), departure or appointment of directors and principal officers (Item 5.02), results of operations and financial condition in earnings releases (Item 2.02), and amendments to the company's articles of incorporation or bylaws (Item 5.03), among others. The 4-business-day Form 8-K filing deadline creates an urgency that drives immediate advisory calls when any triggering event occurs — regardless of whether the event occurs at the beginning, middle, or end of a billing period, and regardless of whether outside counsel is currently advising on a Form 10-Q quarterly report filing for the same client.

Four Form 8-K material event advisory call types that arrive on the event-driven filing calendar: (1) triggering event materiality and disclosure obligation assessment advisory call — arrives when the company identifies a potential Form 8-K triggering event and must determine whether the event meets the reporting threshold for the applicable Form 8-K Item (for example, whether an amendment to a commercial agreement is a "material definitive agreement" amendment requiring Item 1.01 disclosure, whether a departure of a senior vice president constitutes a "principal officer" departure requiring Item 5.02(b) disclosure, or whether a cybersecurity incident constitutes a material cybersecurity incident requiring Item 1.05 disclosure under the SEC's 2023 cybersecurity disclosure rules, SEC Release 33-11216), with outside counsel advising on the materiality standard under TSC Industries, Inc. v. Northway, Inc., 426 U.S. 438 (1976), and the consequences of a missed Form 8-K deadline (loss of Form S-3 registration eligibility for non-timely filers under General Instruction I.A.3 to Form S-3) (35–43 min) — arriving without advance notice on the company's operational event calendar; (2) Form 8-K draft review and Regulation FD compliance advisory call — arrives within the first 2 days after the triggering event when outside counsel must review the draft Form 8-K for the Item-specific disclosure requirements under SEC Release 33-8400 (Form 8-K Amendments) and advise on whether any oral communications with securities analysts, institutional investors, or other market participants about the triggering event before the Form 8-K was filed triggered a Regulation FD obligation to make simultaneous public disclosure — with outside counsel advising on the Form 8-K's adequacy as the required Regulation FD public disclosure and whether a separate Item 7.01 or Item 8.01 8-K filing was required to cure any Regulation FD violation (35–43 min); (3) earnings release and non-GAAP financial measures advisory call — arrives on the earnings release date (typically 3–5 weeks after each fiscal quarter end, preceding the Form 10-Q filing deadline) when outside counsel must advise on the Item 2.02 Form 8-K that serves as the public vehicle for the earnings release, the SEC's requirements for non-GAAP financial measures under Regulation G, 17 C.F.R. §§ 244.100–244.102, and SEC Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation 102.10's prominence requirement (which requires the most directly comparable GAAP measure to be presented with equal or greater prominence to any non-GAAP measure in the earnings release), and whether the earnings release's forward-looking statements qualify for the PSLRA safe harbor under § 21E (35–43 min); (4) SEC staff Form 8-K comment and response advisory call — arrives when the SEC Division of Corporation Finance issues a comment letter on a prior Form 8-K disclosure, when outside counsel must advise on the substance of the SEC staff's comment (typically addressing the completeness of the material definitive agreement exhibit, the non-GAAP reconciliation, or the officer departure reason disclosure under Item 5.02(b)), the timing of the response (comment letters require a response within 30 days of receipt or a request for extension), and the strategy for any subsequent amendment to the Form 8-K (Form 8-K/A) required to address the SEC staff's comments (35–43 min). At 55% untracked: 3 clients × 4 calls × 38 min × 55% = 250.8 min / 60 ≈ 4.2 hours = $1,890–$3,150/year at $450–$750/hr.

How ClaimHour fits public company disclosure practice

If you advise SEC-reporting companies on their periodic reporting obligations with Form 10-K annual report advisory calls clustering in the compressed January–March SEC filing deadline window, Form 10-Q quarterly report advisory calls recurring in May, August, and November on the quarterly filing deadline calendar, and Form 8-K material event advisory calls arriving without advance notice on the company's operational event calendar — and your invoices consistently understate the risk factor specificity assessment advisory calls that arrive concurrently with the Form 10-K MD&A advisory in the same January–March window, the quarterly disclosure controls certification advisory calls that arrive 40 times per year across three quarters for three calendar-year clients, and the Regulation FD compliance advisory calls that arrive within hours of a triggering event requiring same-day Form 8-K filing — ClaimHour was built for that gap.

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Related questions

How do Form 10-K annual report advisory calls generate billing gaps on the SEC filing deadline calendar?

All calendar-year public company clients face the same February/March Form 10-K deadline simultaneously under Rule 13a-1, concentrating advisory calls from all clients in the same January–March window. Four call types: fiscal year-end MD&A scope and materiality advisory (50–62 min), risk factor review and specificity assessment advisory (50–62 min), disclosure controls and ICFR assessment advisory (50–62 min), and SEC staff comment letter response advisory (50–62 min). At 55% untracked: 3 clients × 4 calls × 55 min × 55% ≈ 6.0 hours = $2,700–$4,500/year at $450–$750/hr.

How do Form 10-Q quarterly report advisory calls generate billing gaps on the quarterly filing deadline calendar?

Each calendar-year public company client has three quarterly filing deadlines per year — May, August, and November — each requiring three advisory calls. Three call types per quarter: interim MD&A and contingent liability advisory (38–46 min), disclosure controls certification and ICFR evaluation advisory (38–46 min), and SEC staff review risk assessment advisory (38–46 min). At 55% untracked: 3 clients × 3 calls × 42 min × 55% per quarter × 3 quarters ≈ 10.4 hours/year = $4,680–$7,800/year at $450–$750/hr.

How do Form 8-K material event advisory calls generate billing gaps on the event-driven filing calendar?

Form 8-K triggering events occur on the company's operational calendar — any day of the year, without advance notice to outside counsel — with a 4-business-day filing deadline under Rule 13a-11. Four call types: triggering event materiality and disclosure obligation assessment advisory (35–43 min), Form 8-K draft review and Regulation FD compliance advisory (35–43 min), earnings release and non-GAAP measures advisory (35–43 min), and SEC staff comment response advisory (35–43 min). At 55% untracked: 3 clients × 4 calls × 38 min × 55% ≈ 4.2 hours = $1,890–$3,150/year at $450–$750/hr.

How does public company disclosure attorney billing differ from securities enforcement defense attorney billing?

Public company disclosure attorney billing centers on proactive periodic reporting advisory: Form 10-K annual report advisory clustering in January–March (6.0 hours = $2,700–$4,500/year), Form 10-Q quarterly report advisory recurring three times per year (10.4 hours = $4,680–$7,800/year), and Form 8-K event-driven advisory arriving without advance notice (4.2 hours = $1,890–$3,150/year). Securities enforcement defense billing centers on reactive defense advisory after SEC investigation is opened. Combined public company disclosure annual billing gap: 6.0 + 10.4 + 4.2 = 20.6 hours = $9,270–$15,450/year.

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