he Singapore Exchange Limited (“SGX”) announced that it would change its reporting regimen to remove the requirement for quarterly earnings reporting to instead only require half-yearly reporting. The change provides for risk-based exceptions, which require certain companies to continue quarterly earnings reports if:

• A company received a disclaimer, adverse or qualified opinion from its auditor for the most recent consolidated financial statements;
• Auditors expressed a material uncertainty relating to a going concern; or
• SGX RegCo expressed regulatory concerns with a company, which may include breaches to material disclosures, or issues that may have a material impact on a company.

Although financial reporting practices may change, SGX has affirmed its continuing disclosure requirements for other matters including interested person transactions, asset disposals, capital raising, and other financial assistance proposals.

SGX is the most recent stock exchange to implement a change in corporate reporting, but it is not alone. Most companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange only need to report twice per year, although mining, oil and gas producing entities must provide quarterly earnings. Similarly, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited does not require quarterly reporting for companies listed on its Main Board, although companies on the Growth Enterprise Market (“GEM”) are required to submit quarterly statements. Additionally, quarterly reporting requirements for UK companies were repealed in November 2014, and European markets have moved to half-yearly reporting. Currently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is evaluating responses to whether it should relax the reporting requirement for U.S.-listed companies from a quarterly to a half-yearly basis.

For Singapore, the move toward half-yearly reporting is bringing some changes to corporate governance practices. Specifically, the Corporate Governance Advisory Committee amended the Practice Guidance of the Code of Corporate Governance to bolster practices relating to a company’s audit committee and shareholder engagement. For both practice areas, the onus will be on companies to communicate with shareholders regarding matters that could impact company performance. Similarly, audit committees should be more proactive in addressing matters that auditors may raise resulting from an audit.

via Changing the Timeline on Corporate Financial Reporting: SGX Scraps Quarterly Updates – Glass Lewis