The SWX Swiss Exchange website now offers a tool for reporting possible breaches by issuers of financial reporting regulations. With this information and reporting platform, the SWX is simplifying communications with relevant stakeholders in the market.
The SWX is launching a new reporting tool for information on possible breaches of the regulations that govern financial reporting by issuers listed on the SWX. It is committed to exercising its monitoring and enforcement powers to bring about a steady improvement in the transparency of financial reporting by public companies, thereby helping to strengthen investor confidence. Enforcement activities focus on issuers’ annual and semi-annual financial statements. The SWX has a comprehensive range of sanctions to apply in case of material breaches of the applicable regulations.
Information from third parties can be important in revealing breaches of financial reporting regulations. Such information enables the SWX to exercise surveillance and enforcement in respect of public companies more efficiently and therefore more effectively.
The dedicated new web-based platform is designed to offer investors and other interested parties an easy way of reporting such information. In the interests of consistently high quality, the SWX provides a contact form which requires a certain minimum amount of information on the person making the report and on the facts of the case. The SWX expects use of the new reporting platform to make an important overall contribution to improving the quality of financial reporting from its issuers.
Information submitted via the reporting platform will be reviewed by the SWX immediately. Where there are significant grounds to suspect that financial reporting does not comply with the financial reporting standards applied, the issuer’s reporting is examined in greater detail. If appropriate, preliminary investigations are followed by the opening of an investigation against the issuer. The latter may conclude with a comment letter, an agreement, or sanction proceedings. Sanctions and agreements are communicated by the SWX in press releases and are available on the SWX website.