BSEC extends disclosure submission for listed firms

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on Thursday relaxed the deadline for listed companies on submitting monthly and quarterly statements, as a step towards curbing the spread of Covid-19.

The commission asked Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchange authorities and all listed companies to comply with the new directive.

The stock market regulator issued an official notice in this regard following appeals from some listed companies, seeking revision on the existing rule.

As per the directive, listed companies will be able to make their monthly/quarterly submissions to the commission and bourses up to May 25.

Earlier, the Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies (BAPLC) in a letter to the BSEC Chairman Prof Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam wrote that the companies were facing difficulties to prepare, audit, and submit their financial statements in time, due to the countrywide restrictions put in place to curb the alarming surge in Covid-19 cases.

The BAPLC said banks, non-bank financial institutions, insurances, and most multinational companies closed their accounting year on 31 December.

According to the rule, it said that the companies have to accomplish the financial statement preparations and external audits within 120 days and submit the statement copies in 14 days after that.

Hence, the above listed companies had to submit their 2020 annual statements by May 14.

Also, they have their deadline on 15 May to submit the unaudited statements for the January-March quarter of this year as companies get 45 days to submit their first quarterly statements and 30 days for the second and the third quarterly statements since the end of the respective quarters.