Finance watchdog uncovers disclosure weaknesses

The first review of interim accounts by the Financial Reporting Review Panel
has revealed that a number of companies are overlooking key disclosure
requirements.

The FRRP, a part of the Financial Reporting Council, examined 70 IFRS interim
reports, of which 35 were from FTSE350 groups, and found that a number of these
companies had overlooked disclosures of auditor reports, overseas and UK tax,
finance and income costs and reserves.

Overall, however, the FRRP found that the level of disclosure and compliance
in the first reports prepared under IFRS to be good.

The panel found that the main areas problem areas were on matters of
presentation and narrative descriptions of accounting policies.

‘The half year reports showed evidence of the hard work that has gone into
the transition to IFRS,’ said FRRP chairman Bill Knight. ‘Annual financial
statements set a higher threshold for compliance with more onerous disclosure
requirements, but I hope the Panel will continue to see good results.’

To view the full report visit www.frc.org.uk