We noted the announcement from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that it was writing a letter on Friday night to companies intending to publish preliminary financial statements in the next few days, asking them to delay their planned publications.
In an accompanying announcement on the FCA website, it strongly requests all listed companies to observe a voluntary moratorium on the publication of preliminary financial statements for at least two weeks. The announcement states ‘The unprecedented events of the last couple of weeks mean that the basis on which companies are reporting and planning is changing rapidly. It is important that due consideration is given by companies to these events in preparing their disclosures. Observing timetables set before this crisis arose may not give companies the necessary time to do this.’
A supporting Q&A addresses how the announcement relates to the filing of final audited reports, stating ‘There is a principle underlying our request which could be applied to final reports: this is that, subject to Market Abuse Regulation(MAR) being observed, it should be acceptable for companies to use the full time available to them in the rules and regulation to publish their reports.’
While the timings around financial reporting remain unchanged (confirmed by the FCA here), we are conscious that its recent announcement may impact your reporting schedule and internal processes and are keen to support you in making any necessary changes in the weeks ahead.
We would be delighted to speak to you about this if that would be helpful. Please get in touch at harriet.rumball@luminous.co.uk or via our main switchboard on 020 7101 1677.