News Releases
Canadian Securities Regulators Emphasize Disclosure Obligations for Current Market Conditions
Jan 08, 2009
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published today CSA Staff Notice 51-328 to assist reporting issuers in preparing their financial statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) in the current market environment.
The notice highlights some specific areas for which clear disclosure will be important to help investors understand the risks and circumstances facing issuers. It outlines areas for consideration, including financial instruments, going concern, impairment of goodwill and long-lived assets, and discusses additional considerations for junior resource companies.
The current economic uncertainty and financial market volatility make it especially important for an issuer to clearly disclose the present and anticipated impacts of market conditions on its operations, financial condition, liquidity and future prospects.
Receiving information necessary to understand an issuer’s current and prospective financial position and its operating results is critical for investors. Therefore, MD&A disclosure should be sufficiently detailed and avoid boilerplate statements. The areas discussed in the notice are not new requirements and should not be considered an exhaustive list. Rather, they are intended to provide guidance to issuers.
The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.
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For more information:
| Laurie Gillett Ontario Securities Commission 204-945-4733 |
Ainsley Cunningham Manitoba Securities Commission 416-595-8913 |
| Sylvain Théberge Autorité des marchés financiers 514-940-2176 |
Wendy Connors-Beckett New Brunswick Securities Commission 506 643-7745 |
| Ken Gracey British Columbia Securities Commission 604-899-6577 |
Natalie MacLellan Nova Scotia Securities Commission 902-424-8586 |
| Mark Dickey Alberta Securities Commission 403-297-4481 |
Barbara Shourounis Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission 306-787-5842 |
| Marc Gallant Office of the Attorney General Prince Edward Island 902-368-4552 |
Doug Connolly Financial Services Regulation Div. Newfoundland and Labrador 709-729-2594 |
| Fred Pretorius Yukon Securities Registry 867-667-5225 |
Louis Arki Nunavut Securities Office 867-975-6587 |
| Donn MacDougall Northwest Territories Securities Office 867-920-8984 |