Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) on Thursday stated that the decision taken by its board which involves exempting listed companies from disclosing financial statements for the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year comes as part of efforts to develop the Kingdom’s financial market.

The decision also stems from CMA's “keenness to keep up with continuous changes in global markets, as well as applying best international standards and practices, taking into account the transition to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS),” a statement by the CMA showed.

This decision will give listed firms the right to choose whether to disclose their preliminary financial statements for Q4 of a financial year, the CMA said, indicating that the disclosure is “not mandatory.”

“However, this does not exempt listed companies from complying with the provisions of paragraph (e) of Article (42) of the Listing Rules, which mentions that shareholders must be notified of the annual audited financial statements within a period not exceeding three months from the end of the annual financial period covered by those financial statements,” the CMA stressed.