Companies get 19-day deadline to submit annual reports

Companies quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have 19 working days to submit their audited report and accounts for the past business year to the regulators and the  investing public.
Post-listing rules at the NSE require quoted companies to submit their earnings reports, not later than three months after the expiration of the business period.
Most quoted companies, including banks, major manufacturers, oil and gas companies, breweries and cement companies use the 12-month Gregorian calendar year as their business year, which terminates on December 31.
The NSE’s regulatory filing calendar indicates that the deadline for submission of annual report for companies with Gregorian calendar business year is Thursday, March 31, 2016.
The Nation’s investigation at the weekend indicated that less than five quoted companies have so far submitted their annual reports and accounts, representing less than six per cent of the companies that are required to submit their results under the Gregorian calendar year. The early filers included Forte Oil, Nigerian Breweries, Dangote Cement and Africa Prudential Registrars (APR).
According to the rules at the Exchange, any company that fails to meet the March 31, 2016 deadline will be liable for both monetary sanction and NSE’s “naming and shaming” tagging of non-compliant companies. Besides, compliance with the deadline is generally regarded as a measure of good corporate governance.
However, the NSE can grant waivers and extension of the deadline while a company can also apply for waiver and extension of the deadline.
Many companies have indicated they were planning to release their audited report and accounts ahead of the March 31, deadline. The boards of directors of many companies, including FCMB Holdings, BOC Gases, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria and Lafarge Africa have scheduled meetings to consider and approve the 2015 annual reports, the final process before submission to the Exchange. United Bank for Africa has already forwarded its yearly report to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for review.
A source at the Exchange at the weekend said the NSE would enforce the rules on earnings submission, noting that the NSE has so far seen no reason for any extension or waiver.
Market pundits said they expected the filing of annual reports to pick up considerably in the weeks ahead as several companies finalise arrangements to submit their reports in time to beat the deadline. Several companies are expected to call their final board meeting for the endorsement of the audited report and accounts in the next two weeks.
The NSE is revising its rules on filing of accounts and treatment of default filings to impose stiffer sanctions on defaults. Investigation indicated that companies with chronic history of delay in submission of quarterly and annual reports could pay as much as N100 million fines in some instances. Average fines may increase to N20 million; based on recent delayed filings. Fines imposed under the existing rules ranged from N100, 000 to N7.1 million. The highest fine of N7.1 million was imposed on Daar Communications Plc.
Under the new rules currently undergoing review, any late submission of accounts shall attract a fine of N100,000 per day for the first 90 days of non-compliance; N200,000 per day for the next 90 days of non-compliance and N400,000 per day thereafter until the date of submission.
Besides, any issuer or quoted company shall be liable to pay additional fines of a fine of 50 per cent of its annual listing fee; and N25,000 for every day it remains in default for each instance of non-compliance with any directives of the Exchange under the new rules.