DEFICIENCY LETTER

A letter, issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicating a significant deficiency or omission in a registered statement or prospectus. A deficiency letter should be dealt with promptly, and the SEC should be alerted of any actions taken to remedy the situation. When issuing securities, a deficiency letter will usually disrupt the process. The letter will often halt the registration process, postponing the date of the issue. This prevents a company from receiving funds at an expected date.