OSC Finds Non-Compliance With Interim Financial Statement Disclosure Requirements

The Ontario Securities Commission released a staff notice last week discussing its recent review of issuer compliance with section 4.3(3) of NI 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations. The applicable provision requires that issuers disclose if an auditor has not reviewed an interim financial report. According to the staff notice, the OSC found a "significant level" of non-compliance with the disclosure requirement, in that many issuers failed to disclose that interim statements had not been reviewed, which has led to requests for refilling of interim financial disclosure. While interim financial reports are not required to be reviewed by an auditor, the OSC reiterated that the required disclosure is "critical" as it "alerts investors...that the issuer's auditor did not complete a review of the interim financial report." According to the OSC, it will continue to monitor issuer compliance with this requirement. For more information, see OSC Staff Notice 51-718.