The British Columbia Securities Commission says it is taking a tough stand against companies that file their financial statements late, including imposing cease trade orders on delinquent companies without warning.

“Investors have a right to timely and accurate information about a company’s financial health,” said Wayne Redwick, BCSC director of corporate finance. “We are taking steps to make sure they get that information.”

Companies must normally file their annual financial statements 140 days after their fiscal year-end. “We are taking a more proactive approach to encourage companies to file their financial statements on time,” said Redwick. “But there still are a significant number of late-filing companies that may need a stronger message such as a cease trade order. Investors should take note of companies that fail to meet their filing deadline because it could signal the firm is having cash flow problems or is being mismanaged.”

About 6,200 companies file financial statements with the BCSC each year, and the BCSC estimates that as many as 500 companies failed to file their annual financial statements on time last year. Last year, it issued 161 cease trade orders against late-filing companies and allowed 75 of those to resume trading after they had addressed the problem.

The BCSC publishes weekly a list of companies in default on its Web site www.bcsc.bc.ca. The list includes companies that have missed their filing deadline, companies that have filed but are missing information and companies that have failed to pay their filing fee.