Preliminary announcements trigger investment decisions and share price movements, but the full story in the annual report (and independent auditor’s report) is often only made available to the market sometime later.

One of the themes we hear consistently through our engagement with institutional investors is that the value of the annual report – and the auditor’s report contained within it – is significantly diminished if it is published some time after the preliminary results announcement. While the annual report contains much that may be relevant, the stock market has already reacted and moved on.

To help provide more timely information about our audits to investors, we are now offering companies the option to request that KPMG provides an independent report on their prelim (if the prelim is based on audited financial statements). This option is available to companies with equity listed either on the Main Market or on AIM.

For further information please contact:

Michelle Hinchliffe, UK Chair of Audit, KPMG in the UK

Jonathan Holt, UK Head of Audit, KPMG in the UK