Case Study: American Equity Investment Life Holding Company achieves faster, streamlined Section 16 reporting with Workiva

Innovation Improves Section 16 Reporting at American Equity

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company in West Des Moines tasked Steve Harms, assistant vice president of accounting research, with preparing Section 16 filings (Forms 3, 4 and 5). The SEC’s proprietary filing tool proved difficult to use—no draft saving, frequent timeouts, and poor shareability—making what should have been routine reporting slow and frustrating.

American Equity moved to Workiva’s Wdesk Section 16 solution (Harms began using it even pre-release), allowing reuse of content across forms, saved drafts, easy sharing, and hands-on support to meet filing deadlines. The result: drafting time dropped from hours to minutes, filings were streamlined, and Harms regained time for other priorities.

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company

Steven Harms

Assistant Vice President of Accounting Research