Privately held companies that have pension plans which own some of the company’s own stock (employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs), have been concerned about publication of private information about their finances. The problem stemmed from the  Department of Labor’s publication of annual filings by ESOPs that included the private financial information.

In a very informative article, Connie Spinelli at BKDForsenics.com explains the background on this issue, and describes a recent step by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to indefinitely postpone disclosure requirements for these private securities.