SEC pushes ahead with cost reductions to consolidated audit trail
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved further amendments to the National Market System (NMS) Plan governing the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), aiming to significantly reduce the cost of operating one of the world’s largest regulatory data systems.
Announced on 27 March, the changes introduce a series of measures designed to streamline CAT operations while preserving its core regulatory capabilities. These include reducing data retention requirements, scaling back certain processing and reporting obligations, and limiting functionality where regulatory demand is low. The SEC has also granted targeted exemptive relief to enable implementation of these efficiencies.
The Commission estimates that the amendments will deliver annual savings of between $50 million and $70 million compared to the 2025 CAT budget, alongside additional incremental savings beyond earlier cost-cutting measures introduced last year.
SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins described the move as “a step in the right direction” after years of rising costs, while signalling that further work lies ahead to ensure the long-term sustainability of the CAT. The regulator is continuing a broader review of the system, with an expectation that industry participants will collaborate on additional efficiencies.
CAT’s evolution highlights familiar themes for the digital reporting community: balancing the value of granular, standardised data with the operational and financial costs of collection, processing, and storage. With eyes from the US to Europe currently on cost cutting, streamlining, and reducing red tape, the SEC’s move is one of several aiming to increase the efficiency of regulatory insight.
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