G100 hosts critical forum on reporting during the pandemic

Every Australian organisation has been impacted by COVID-19 and are not able to operate the way they would normally. Companies have staff working from home, some have team members on extended leave, and essential meetings are being held online. The economic slowdown, coupled with these problematic working conditions, means that financial reporting is a critical issue for all businesses this year.

To assist members, the Group of 100 (G100) is holding a series of webcasts dealing with issues impacting companies arising from the pandemic. The second event in the series, titled “Financial Reporting Impacts of COVID-19” took place Friday, 19 June 2020, in partnership with KPMG.

An expert panel was moderated by Janelle Hopkins, Chair of the G100 and CFO of REA Group. Doug Niven, ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader Financial Reporting and Audit, Kim Heng, KPMG’s Head of Financial Reporting and Martyn Roberts, G100 Deputy Chair and CFO of Ramsay Health Care, discussed a variety of issues the companies are confronting in this reporting season.

The panel discussed impairment, discount rates, reporting the impact of COVID on the market, and going concern considerations were presented with many others. Doug Niven suggested that ASIC was keen to assist companies to work through difficult reporting issues and at the end of the session suggested people should refer to the ASIC website where general advice can be found. If members do have specific questions, they can be directed to ASIC or the G100 and answers will be posted on the website. To see the link of the ASIC reporting information, click here

The next scheduled webinar will take place early-August. Further details will be sent to the G100 members via email, in coming weeks.