March 20, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 16, 1424

ISLAMABAD, March 19: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has granted a further one-month relaxation in respect of submission by the management and auditors of listed companies of their second quarter accounts.

Under an amendment in Section 245 of the Companies Ordinance, 1984, through the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2002, the SECP spokesman explained here on Wednesday, listed companies are required to prepare and transmit to the members and the stock exchange(s) their first, second and third quarter accounts within one month of the close of the respective quarter.

Besides, the Commission’s Circular No 16 of 2002, dated December 11, 2002, requires that cumulative figures for the half-year presented in the second quarter accounts shall be subjected to limited scope review by the statutory auditors.

The Commission had received a large number of representations from the listed companies as well as Aptma, the PSMA, the ICAP and certain other professional bodies, stating therein that it is impracticable to prepare and transmit the second quarter accounts with limited scope review by the statutory bodies within a period of one month of the close of that quarter.

It had, therefore, been decided to allow these companies to circulate their second quarter accounts with limited scope review by the statutory auditors within a period of two months of the close of second quarter.