Listed firms take too long to upload financials
Most listed companies in Bangladesh do not post their quarterly financial reports within 48 hours of securing approval from their boards as they take advantage of the lack of specific regulations in this regard, according to experts.
What is worse, some listed companies even take weeks to publish their annual financial statements. As a result, general investors are deprived of key financial data that allows them to analyse the health of issuers.
"Whenever a company's board approves its financial report, general shareholders have the right to access it, but many firms take a long time to publish such statements on their website," said Md Moniruzzaman, managing director of IDLC Investments.
As per listing regulations, the issuer of listed securities must make its detailed financial statements available on its website as well as that of the country's bourses through a link arrangement. However, no deadline has been set to make such disclosures.
"So, the regulators should provide precise instructions to ensure that financial reports are published online within a reasonable amount of time," said Moniruzzaman, also the vice-president of the Bangladesh Merchant Bankers' Association.
Although listed companies publish their earnings per share, net asset value and net cash flow per share on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) website, this data alone is not enough to assess a company.
"We need full financial statements, so companies should publish them online as soon as their board gives the approval," Moniruzzaman said.
"If listed firms need time to prepare an annual report, they can at least upload their audited yearly financials soon after the board meeting."
An executive member of the Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies (BAPLC) said most listed companies upload their financial statements online after receiving consent at their board meeting.
"But since there is no specific timeframe for making such disclosures, some companies may take time," he said.
"Still though, if all of us are sincere about it, the job wouldn't be too difficult as the companies publish their data in two national newspapers. This means that since the data is already public, there should be no problem it uploading it on the company website," the BAPLC official added.
Mohammad Rezaul Karim, a spokesperson of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), said investors can make more informed decisions when more data is available to them.
"So, easy access to such data would help make the market more mature," he added.
Karim went on to say that the country's listing regulations were formulated for the stock exchanges, so the bourses can take care of the issue.
"If the bourses come up with a proposal, we can consider it for the betterment of investors," said Karim, also an executive director of the BSEC.
M Shaifur Rahman Mazumdar, chief operating officer of the DSE, said companies have to follow a timeframe within which they submit their financial reports to the exchanges.
"So, they should simultaneously make the reports available online for the public. If they don't follow it, then it is their negligence."
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