An Ontario Securities Commission panel gave Research In Motion Ltd another deadline extension for its quarterly reports, as the company races to correct accounting errors for employee stock options issued several years ago.

At a hearing held yesterday in Toronto, a two-member OSC panel extended an order that restricts insiders from trading in RIM stock while allowing the company extra time to catch up with its financial statements.

The panel also decided not to expand a cease-trade order to all company shares – meaning non-insiders will continue to buy and sell stock in Canada’s most valuable technology company.

RIM said earlier this week that it will reduce 3 1/4 years of previously reported earnings by about US$250 million because of errors related to stock option costs – much more than the $25 million to $45 million the company had originally estimated in September.

Jim Balsillie has resigned as chairman of RIM’s board but will remain co-chief executive officer of the company with Mike Lazaridis.

The OSC panel said it will meet again with RIM on June 5 if the company does misses the deadline for its full-year filings by June 1.

RIM was last granted an extension in mid-December when it told an OSC panel that it was wading through about 150,000 more documents than it originally anticipated for its financial report.

While the accounting errors are directly related to the delayed earnings reports, the OSC said that was part of a separate matter to be handled by the regulators.