ISLAMABAD, July 27: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan notified here on Tuesday the revised Fourth Schedule to Companies Ordinance to bring it into line with the International Accounting Standards (IAS) and accounting disclosure procedures in vogue elsewhere in the world.

Divided into three parts, it lays down the requirements as to balance sheet and profit and loss account of listed companies. The SECP has directed the listed companies whose financial year closes on or after the notification date to prepare their annual financial statements in accordance with the revised Fourth Schedule.

Although provisions of the schedule have been revamped and simplified, the new schedule continues to allow companies to select and adopt the form of balance sheet as well as the profit and loss account which best suits the circumstances.

Part-I of the revised schedule has been modified and made concise for clarity and obsolete information deleted. In Part-II relating to the balance sheet, certain items have been introduced under the head "fixed assets" whereas certain other disclosure requirements have been deleted as these have been comprehensively covered under various IAS provisions.

Disclosure requirements for long-term investments have been restructured and rearranged. Some of the disclosures related to long-term loans and advances have been waived, while various other requirements have been introduced to enhance the scope and bring the overall disclosure requirement into line with IAS 32.

Certain requirements under the head "long-term deposits and prepayments" in the old Fourth Schedule binding the companies to defer the expenditure for a maximum period of five years too stand deleted under the revised schedule.

In order to bring the disclosure requirements under the head "current assets" into line with IAS 2 and IAS 32, some of the disclosures have been deleted, while several others modified.

Disclosures related to share capital and reserves that are covered comprehensively in IAS 1 have been deleted and some other modifications to the disclosure introduced. In addition, the section "surplus on revaluation of fixed assets" has been rephrased for simplicity and better presentation.

Under the head "non-current liabilities, current liabilities and contingencies and commitments", major sections/subsections have been deleted since most of them have been extensively covered under IAS 32 and IAS 37.

Disclosure requirements related to current liabilities have been covered under this IAS. Others have been simplified and comprehended for better presentation.In Part-III relating to the requirements as to profit and loss account, certain requirements have been modified either to require additional disclosures or for clarity and better understanding.

Obsolete information has been deleted for the sake of comprehension of the subject. Moreover, certain disclosures already covered under the IAS have been deleted to avoid duplication. The revised schedule, which has been modified through SRO No 589(I)/2004 dated July 5, 2004, is also available at the SECP website: www.secp.gov.pk.