Global securities regulators issued new guidance on continuous disclosure for listed firms, which consolidates and updates its existing work in this area.
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a report Monday on secondary market disclosure, setting out its recommendations to regulators around the world for their existing disclosure rules.
The report doesn’t introduce any new mandatory requirements, instead it consolidates and updates, its existing guidance on secondary market disclosure — centred around the principle of requiring full, accurate and timely disclosure — and covering the content of disclosure expectations, governance and internal controls designed to meet those expectations.
“The framework follows a principles-based approach, designed to support consistent regulatory outcomes while allowing flexibility in implementation, and without seeking to impose a single, uniform model,” the group noted.
The umbrella group of global regulators reported that its work in this area has evolved over the years in various, disparate sets of recommendations.
It first issued principles for continuous disclosure in 2002, and published another set of principles on periodic disclosure in 2010. However, it noted that investors’ needs and expectations related to disclosure “have evolved substantially over the years, including, but not limited to, disclosure of material risks and opportunities.”
The new report aims to consolidate this work, closing regulatory gaps, while also eliminating overlaps and outdated references in the existing guidance.
“This work brings together IOSCO’s existing guidance in a clearer framework, making it easier for regulators to apply secondary markets disclosure principles in practice, while still allowing for differences across jurisdictions,” said Cameron McInnis, chair of IOSCO’s Committee on Accounting, Auditing and Disclosure, and chief accountant at the Ontario Securities Commission, in a release.