According to the securities law, listed companies should disclose the 2019 audited annual report before April 30, 2020. However, the sudden epidemic broke the rhythm of many companies. The China Securities Regulatory Commission issued a document stating that for some companies that are seriously affected by the epidemic, they can delay the disclosure of annual reports.
As of April 24, Wind data shows that 82 listed companies have issued announcements to postpone the disclosure of their 2019 annual reports. Among them, 15 listed companies are located in Hubei Province and are not listed companies in Hubei Province. Audit difficulties mainly involve the audit of overseas assets. Among these companies, 25 listed companies suffered losses in 2018, and 15 listed companies were on the verge of delisting.
82 listed companies postponed annual report disclosure, 15 listed companies are located in Hubei Province
As of April 24, Wind data shows that 82 listed companies have postponed announcements in 2019 At the time of disclosure of the annual report, 15 listed companies were located in Hubei Province, accounting for 13.76% of the total number of listed companies in Hubei Province, and 6 listed companies were located in Shanghai.
109 listed companies in Hubei have begun an orderly resumption of work, but there are still 15 listed companies that have postponed the disclosure of their 2019 annual reports due to the impact of the epidemic. Among them, *ST Kaidi, Gudi Technology, Oriental Financial Four listed companies, Yuhe Zhongzhu Medical, reported losses in 2018.
Taking Chutian Expressway as an example, in January 2020, when the new coronavirus epidemic broke out, the company’s headquarters, some subsidiaries, and the company’s 2019 annual financial statement audit unit China Shen Zhonghuan Accounting Firm (Special General Partnership) ) are all located in the Wuhan epidemic area, and important members of the audit team also live in Wuhan. Due to the severe situation of epidemic prevention and control, in order to block the spread of the virus, Wuhan City has implemented city closures since January 23, 2020, closing the exit from Han Dynasty. Strict community closure measures have been adopted in the city, and non-epidemic prevention and control personnel have stopped moving. , the work related to the company's annual report came to a standstill, and the auditors of China Shen Zhonghuan Firm were unable to enter the company's site to perform audit work as planned, resulting in the company being unable to disclose the audited 2019 annual report as scheduled.
Excluding Hubei, there are 67 listed companies that have postponed the disclosure of their 2019 annual reports, mainly due to audit difficulties involving foreign subsidiaries. Kingenta’s announcement stated that the company’s important component, German Compo Investment Company, and more than 20 major subsidiaries are located in Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Chile, and Malaysia. , the business is mainly located in Europe. Affected by the European epidemic and various countries' epidemic prevention and control and isolation measures, Daxin Accounting Firm is unable to complete the audit procedures as planned, and it is expected that it will not be able to complete the relevant audit procedures before April 30, 2020. Listed companies such as Jiu'an Medical, Yangzi New Materials, Tiancheng Automation, and Wanfeng Aowei also encountered the problem that their foreign subsidiaries were affected by the epidemic and were unable to complete the audit procedures as planned.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission requires seeking truth from facts and strengthening supervision and management
On April 7, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued the "Announcement on Matters Concerning the Auditing and Disclosure of Annual Reports of Current Listed Companies and Other Companies", The "Announcement" mainly clarifies the following contents: First, adhere to the principles of quality assurance and full disclosure, and strive to disclose the audited annual report before April 30, 2020 as required. The second is to distinguish between different situations. For some companies that are seriously affected by the epidemic, it is stipulated that the disclosure of annual reports can be delayed and the main operating results can be disclosed in advance. The third is to seek truth from facts. If the delay in disclosure and audit by relevant companies and accounting firms due to the impact of the epidemic is caused by force majeure, administrative penalties will not be imposed and relevant handling will be carried out in accordance with the law. The fourth is to strengthen supervision and management. For companies and accounting firms that abuse the delayed disclosure policy and take the opportunity to commit fraud in the audit and disclosure of annual reports, strict verification and accountability will be carried out during and after the event, and legal responsibilities will be strictly investigated in accordance with the law.
Among the 82 listed companies that postponed the disclosure of their 2019 annual reports, 25 listed companies suffered losses in 2018. If losses continue in 2019, the listed companies will be on the verge of delisting.
In addition, 15 listed companies that have postponed the disclosure of their 2019 annual reports have already been exposed, and the 2019 annual report data is also crucial.
*ST Kaidi, once the “first stock in biomass power generation”, has been suspended from listing. The company is advancing the reorganization work, and there are twists and turns in the annual report audit process. On May 21, 2019, *ST Kaidi 2018 The Annual General Meeting of Shareholders decided to re-appoint Dahua Accounting Firm (Special General Partnership) as the accounting firm for the 2019 annual audit. On December 31, 2019, Dahua Accounting Firm issued a letter stating that due to time constraints, personnel arrangements and other reasons, its Unable to undertake *ST Kaidi's 2019 annual report audit business.
After that, *ST Kaidi looked for other audit institutions and requested coordination and support from relevant departments, but failed. In February this year, *ST Kaidi issued an announcement to publicly select an accounting firm for the 2019 annual audit. On March 31 *ST Kaidi plans to hire Sigma Accounting Firm (Special General Partnership) as the company's 2019 annual report auditor. Therefore, the annual report cannot be disclosed before April 30 in accordance with the prescribed time.