“All investors, large and small, should have access to equal information from listed entities when making their investment decisions,’ Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Commissioner Cathie Armour stated.
ASIC pointed out that the coming reporting season will be the first since the regulator revised Guidance Note 8 for the first time since 2005. The guidance is designed to assist listed entities understand their continuous disclosure obligations and particularly the requirement to disclose market-sensitive information to the Australian Securities Exchange.
ASIC said that over the coming weeks it will be working to raise awareness of the risks of selective disclosure when listed companies brief analysts. The regulator will also be reminding key gatekeepers, company officers, individual analysts and their firms of their obligations.
The regulator will also look to conduct spot checks with selected companies so ASIC can hear how companies brief analysts and understand their procedures.
“We anticipate that companies and securities houses will be pleased to assist us in this exercise to promote market integrity,” ASIC stated.
If standards can be improved, ASIC said, it will consider providing additional guidance on the issue, and pointed companies to its existing Regulatory Guide 62, Better disclosure for investors, which ASIC said suggests “a number of practical steps that a listed company should take to ensure the widest audience of investors have access to material information about the company”.
