Many companies continue to face uncertainty about their prospects as a result of the on-going impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which continues to present a number of reporting challenges.  Although the FRC has highlighted that reporting in the face of the pandemic has not declined, it is still vital that companies continue to provide timely and high-quality reporting which reflects the ongoing uncertainties they face and their response to those uncertainties.

For many companies, their focus will have moved from the urgency of short-term survival to the development of longer-term resilience in the wake of COVID-19.  ESMA in its Common Enforcement Priorities, calls for companies to carefully assess the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on their financial performance, position and cash flows.  It reiterates key messages from its previous Common Enforcement Priorities and highlights that it will continue to focus on how companies have considered the effects of COVID-19 in their reporting in particular on going concern assumptions, significant judgements, estimation uncertainty, presentation of financial statements and impairment of assets.  ESMA also reminds companies of its expectations with regards to disclosure in areas such as supplier finance arrangements and government assistance, the recognition of deferred tax assets, non-financial reporting and presentation of Alternative Performance Measures (APMs) in a COVID-19 environment. 

Like ESMA, in its upcoming monitoring of annual reports in 2021/22 the FRC will continue to focus on how companies are disclosing the financial reporting impacts of COVID-19.  In particular it will focus on the disclosure of judgements and estimation uncertainties arising from the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding matters such as going concern and liquidity.

In its Annual Review of Corporate Reporting it reminds companies of a number of key messages from its COVID-19 thematic review that 2021 reporters should continue to have regard to this reporting season.  Previous messages contained within other guidance such as the FRC’s Company Guidance COVID-19 and FRC Lab reports will also be relevant in highlighting FRC and investor expectations for reporting in the current uncertain environment.

This page includes all of our publications on the financial reporting impacts of COVID-19.