America may be considering to scrap quarterly earnings and ask companies to instead file annual or half-yearly reports.
In a post on Truth Social, US President Trump commented that securities regulators should take the onus of requiring companies to issue financial reports once every 6 months instead of 3 months.
According to the US President, "This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies."
The idea for doing away with quarterly reports is nothing new and has found takers several times. A fortnight ago, an SEC (US Securities and Exchange Commission) registered exchange named Long Term Stock Exchange (LTSE) said it was planning to petition the SEC to do away with the quarterly requirement.
The idea of a quarterly report on earnings has been in practice since 1970s and adopted by leading businesses around the globe. Although surprising, the latest idea has found some acceptance from market-pundits. In the recent past, legendary investor and the Wizard of Omaha, Warren Buffett as well as the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon have questioned the benefit of reporting quarterly numbers.
Currently, the SEC requires corporations to report their financial statements every 90 days. Half-yearly reporting would mark a huge change in disclosure requirements and put the US in line with the UK and several countries in the European Union.
While the idea seems controversial, firms in UK need not file a quarterly report, a half-yearly report is sufficient to comply.
