CSA to combine disclosure, delivery reforms

Proposals to streamline issuers’ continuous disclosure requirements are on hold as the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) contemplate electronic delivery options.

The CSA said Tuesday that its proposals to overhaul companies’ financial reporting requirements and the separate measures to adopt an “access equals delivery” model for issuers’ disclosures would work best together.

As a result, any changes to the disclosure requirements will have to wait until the regulators settle on changes to the disclosure delivery rules.

“The CSA anticipates publishing a revised access model for continuous disclosure in due course,” it said.

“Until that work advances, the CSA does not anticipate implementing the amendments that would introduce the annual and interim disclosure statements.”

In 2021, the regulators proposed revisions to issuers’ continuous disclosure requirements that would, among other things, reduce duplicative reporting and combine financial statements, management’s discussion and analysis, and annual information form filings into a single reporting document.

Last year, they proposed introducing a new electronic access model for prospectuses and certain continuous disclosure documents that would include the new disclosures that are contemplated in the 2021 reforms.

“When we proposed amendments to our continuous disclosure requirements in 2021, we aimed to streamline disclosure requirements and reduce the regulatory burden for public companies while maintaining strong investor protection,” said Stan Magidson, chair of the CSA and chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), in a release.

“We believe these goals would be best achieved when combined with a model for electronic access to information. We are carefully reviewing the feedback on the CSA’s 2022 proposed electronic access model to assess how that could be implemented in parallel with the continuous disclosure amendments,” he added.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.