The government has decided not to require large, non-public companies to file their financial reports with the Registrar of Companies. The decision follows a review of the Financial Reporting Act 1993.

The Ministry of Economic Development's review of the Act commenced earlier this year. Two options were put forward for consultation:

1. Allowing shareholders to opt out of the reporting requirement, and
2. Require companies of a prescribed scale to disclose their accounts.

Following this process, it was decided that any public interest in full disclosure was outweighed by the loss of commercial confidentiality and/or shareholder privacy.

“I would like to thank everyone that helped in the development of this decision, particularly those who made submissions on the discussion documents,” says Commerce Minister Pete Hodgson.

The decision announced today relates only to companies that are not issuers of securities.

The outcomes of other aspects of the review are expected to be announced later in the year.

http://www.med.govt.nz/buslt/bus_pol/bus_law/corporate-governance/financial-reporting/index.html