In many cases the horse has already bolted but the Securities Commission is warning directors of a need for greater transparency in reporting accounts.The commission's latest cycle review of financial reporting standards looked at 20 companies with March
In many cases the horse has already bolted but the Securities Commission is warning directors of a need for greater transparency in reporting accounts.
The commission’s latest cycle review of financial reporting standards looked at 20 companies with March 2010 balance dates. It wrote to 16 of the assessed companies to raise 30 issues.
While the review showed some improvement relating to investment property revaluations, it noted other areas still required better disclosure.
In particular disclosure of operating segments, key judgments and significant assumptions and impairment relating to goodwill.
The “Cycle 13” review focused on segmental reporting under NZ IFRS and noted that some disclosures did not meet the core principle of the standard.
“Ensuring stakeholders and investors are fully informed about all areas of their investment is vital, and issuers must ensure they provide clear, concise and transparent financial statements which are easily understood,” Securities Commission Chairman Jane Diplock said.
Next year the Securities Commission is being folded into the new Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Commerce Minister Simon Power is legislating to give the regulator greater powers in the wake of financial company failures that have lost retail investors billions of dollars in recent years.
The Securities Commission will publish its Cycle 13 report in due course, it said. It did not say if it would identify the companies it wrote to.
