Our Financial Reporting Expert Group contributed to our response to the FRC's consultation on auditors and preliminary announcements.
We commented that the consultation lacked clarity with respect to the identification of a problem regarding preliminary announcements. We encouraged the FRC to undertake further preparatory work, so that it can establish whether there are problems with the current position and hence whether improvements could, and should, be made.
We suggested that if deficiencies in preliminary announcements are identified, then these should be addressed by the AIM Rules and the Listing Rules, rather than in an FRC Bulletin or engagement standard. We noted that we would welcome joint public consultation,with both the FCA and the London Stock Exchange, if evidence suggests there is scope for improvement.
However we added that the FRC could still provide indicative good guidance as to what should be included in a preliminary announcement, as this could drive consistency.
