The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it will hold a roundtable on Oct. 8 to discuss ways to modernize its disclosure system.

The SEC said that the roundtable’s discussions will help guide it as it examines how the agency acquires disclosure information from public companies, mutual funds, and other market entities as well as how that information is being made available to investors and the markets.

The roundtable will be organized into two panels. The first panel will explore the data, technology, and processes that companies and other filers use in satisfying their disclosure obligations. The second panel will consider how the SEC could better organize and operate its disclosure system so that companies enjoy efficiencies and investors have better access to high-quality information.

“Our roundtable discussion will help advise the commission how to build on and accelerate its transition from the current forms-based system of collecting data to a system that is more dynamic, more accessible and user-friendly, and better organized around core company or fund information,” said Dr. William Lutz, director of the 21st Century Disclosure Initiative.

“Such a company file system would collect core information about a company or fund, supplemented by periodic, current, and transactional information, in a centrally and logically organized structured data file. This would remove complexity and redundancy for filers, and give investors quick access to the information they want. We’re seeking input from all stakeholders on the need for a modernized system, and on what it might look like,” Lutz added.