(a) Financial statements of a smaller reporting company, as defined by § 229.10(f)(1) of this chapter, its predecessors or any businesses to which the smaller reporting company is a successor shall be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.

(b) Smaller reporting companies electing to prepare their financial statements with the form and content required in Article 8 need not apply the other form and content requirements in Regulation S-X with the exception of the following:

(c) The requirements of § 210.3-10 are applicable to financial statements for a subsidiary of a smaller reporting company that issues securities guaranteed by the smaller reporting company or guarantees securities issued by the smaller reporting company. Disclosures about guarantors and issuers of guaranteed securities registered or being registered must be presented as required by § 210.13-01.

(d) The requirements of § 210.3-16 or § 210.13-02 are applicable if a smaller reporting company's securities registered or being registered are collateralized by the securities of the smaller reporting company's affiliates. Section 210.13-02 must be followed unless § 210.3-16 applies. The periods presented for purposes of compliance with § 210.3-16 are those required by § 210.8-02.

(e) The Commission, where consistent with the protection of investors, may permit the omission of one or more of the financial statements or the substitution of appropriate statements of comparable character. The Commission by informal written notice may require the filing of other financial statements where necessary or appropriate.

(f) Section 210.3-06 applies to the preparation of financial statements of smaller reporting companies.