Canada to test semi-annual reporting for companies in push to cut regulatory burdens

By Anirban Sen and Arasu Kannagi Basil

NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters) - Canadian securities regulators on Thursday announced a pilot project to allow smaller issuers to voluntarily adopt a semi-annual financial reporting framework, in a bid to ease the regulatory burden for public companies.

The move by the Canadian Securities Administrators mirrors a similar push in the United States, where regulators are working on fast-tracking President Donald Trump's call to nix quarterly corporate disclosure requirements. The CSA is an umbrella organization for Canada's provincial and territorial securities regulators.

Under the pilot project, eligible so-called venture issuers listed on the TSX Venture Exchange or the CNSX Markets will be exempted from the requirement to file first- and third-quarter financial reports. Issuers must have revenue of less than C$10 million ($7.3 million) and at least a 12-month continuous disclosure record to be eligible to report on a semi-annual basis, CSA said on Thursday.

The move comes as Canada is working to reinvigorate its dormant IPO market and reverse years-long shrinkage of publicly traded companies, following a jump in delistings and buyouts that resulted in companies being taken private.

The semi-annual financial reporting pilot "is a good example of our focus at the CSA on reducing regulatory burden for issuers without compromising investor protections," said CSA chair Stan Magidson in an interview. Magidson also serves as the chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission.

TMX Group X.TO, Canada's top exchange, is pushing for the newly proposed rules to also include larger publicly listed companies, CEO John McKenzie told Reuters last week.

Companies in many parts of Europe and Asia, as well as Australia, have been reporting earnings every six months for several years.

The CSA plans to use learnings from the pilot and work on a broader rule-making project related to voluntary semi-annual financial reporting for eligible companies.

"There's already been expressions of interest for us to cast the net more broadly to include all TSX and CSE venture issuers, or even more broadly, all issuers on a voluntary basis," said Magidson.

"Depending on how things unfold in America, we're going to be flexible and agile to be in a position to respond accordingly. The more people that embrace this, test it, and if it's accepted, the better it is for prospects of expansion."

While quarterly reporting provides timely information to investors and market participants, some stakeholders argue the cost of preparing such disclosures creates a burden for smaller companies.

($1 = 1.3732 Canadian dollars)