The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) emphasise the importance of high-quality financial statements that adequately reflect issuers’ current financial position to investors amid the ongoing COVID-19 situation.
SGX RegCo published a Regulator’s Column to highlight key areas that issuers should exercise care in when preparing their interim financial statements, such as asset valuations and going concern assessments. It seeks to give some practical guidance to issuers on navigating these areas, while at the same time recommending key disclosures that would be relevant to investors for making informed investment decisions.
ACRA issued a Financial Reporting Practice Guidance on Proposed Areas of Review Focus By Directors on the Financial Statements Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic on 22 May 2020. It seeks to highlight warning signs of possible non-compliance with accounting standards and provides directors with questions to ask management and statutory auditors when assessing the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on financial statements. The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants has also provided a series of frequently asked questions to address accounting and auditing issues faced under COVID-19.
Issuers are strongly encouraged to refer to these guidance when presenting their financial statements to investors during this period.
