The Securities and Exchange Commission, which guides the standards of behavior for US quoted companies, has launched an unusual crusade – to defend the English language. The people it is taking on are company lawyers and accountants, two professions united by a love of money rather than any affection for clear communications. Anyone who has struggled to make sense of an SEC filing will know that the impenetrable prose contained in most documents is an obstacle to understanding. So the SEC has published a draft of its Plain English handbook for comments and it could come into effect in October. In the introduction, SEC chairman Arthur Levitt says: Whether you work at a company, a law firm, or the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the shift to plain English requires a new style of thinking and writing. We must question whether the documents we are used to writing highlight the important information investors need to make informed decisions. The legalese and jargon of the past must give way to everyday words that communicate complex information clearly. The good news is that more and more companies and lawyers are using plain English, filing documents with the SEC that others can study, use, and improve upon. The benefits of plain English abound. Investors will be more likely to understand what they are buying and to make informed judgments about whether they should hold or sell their investments. Brokers and investment advisers can make better recommendations to their clients if they can read and understand these documents quickly and easily. It is an admirable document that companies ought to incorporate into their house style for communications of all kinds. In the IT industry, jargon is a particular curse, though it is a huge challenge to present new and complicated technologies in a readable way. But since the entire industry is about improving communications for the whole population, the least it can do is to follow the SEC’s lead and tell everyone in a clear and simple way what it is doing. The handbook is on http://www.sec.gov/consumer/plaine.htm#A4