The Big Questions - 60-day prelim reports no problem

Finance directors have poured scorn on competitors unable to meet the new 60-day target for releasing preliminary results.

Nearly 75% of the 200 FDs questioned in this week’s The Big Question, carried out for Accountancy Age by Reed Accountancy Personnel, said it was reasonable for companies to issue preliminary reports 60 days after their year-end.

Last week, the Accounting Standards Body and the Auditing Practices Board urged companies to issue preliminary results within 60 days of a company’s year-end.

‘The accountant should be fired if he does not manage this,’ said one FD, who asked to remain anonymous.

Simon Pritchard, of Tactical Marketing, added: ‘It depends on the size of the company, but I’d expect preliminary results within 30 days.’

Others were more cautious, however. ‘The 60-day deadline for preliminary reporting is reasonable but companies should have 30 more days for the audit,’ said Stuart Chapman, of education organisation International Baccalaureate.

Only 22% of FDs opposed the new reporting target.