The EU’s Securities Markets regulator has called upon listed issuers to clearly outline in their half-yearly financial reports what implications COVID-19 has had on their businesses.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) made the call in a public statement and also issued several recommendations.
These included the importance of providing relevant and reliable information, which may require issuers to make use of the time allowed by national law to publish half-yearly financial reports while not unduly delaying the timing of publication.
Moreover, ESMA called on issuers to update the information included in the latest annual accounts to adequately inform stakeholders of the impacts of COVID-19, in particular in relation to significant uncertainties and risks, going concern, impairment of non-financial assets and presentation in the statement of profit or loss.
Thirdly, issuers were urged to be aware of the need for entity-specific information on the past and expected future impact of COVID-19 on the strategic orientation and targets, operations, performance of issuers as well as any mitigating actions put in place to address the effects of the pandemic.
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