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The SWX Swiss Exchange has fined Bossard Holding AG for breaching certain provisions of the IFRS accounting standards in its 2007 consolidated financial statements. The fine relates to a failure to properly disclose the correction of errors.
Bossard Holding AG, which is listed on the main segment of the SWX Swiss Exchange, infringed provisions of the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) by failing to properly disclose corrections of errors in its 2007 consolidated cash flow statement, as is required by the applicable provisions of IAS 8 "Accounting policies, changes in accounting estimates and errors". The breach of these particular IFRS disclosure provisions does not affect the assets and liabilities, financial position and profits and losses reported by Bossard Holding AG in its 2007 consolidated financial statements.
IFRS requires that the nature of the error from a prior reporting period be disclosed. With regard to the correction of foreign currency factors, Bossard Holding AG simply disclosed that the cash flow statement for 2006 had been represented and changes in the exchange rate contained in the translation difference were then assigned to the appropriate items in the cash flow statement.
Further corrections, namely the gross reporting of cash flows, were made to the cash flow statement but were not visible to investors. For example, Bossard Holding AG reported certain prior-year figures as "published 2006", and not, as required by IAS 8, as a correction of an error.
It thus disclosed to investors neither that an error had been made, nor its cause. In doing so, it denied recipients of the annual financial statements important information that could affect their assessment of the quality of the issuer's accounting and reporting practices.
Taking all aspects of the present case into consideration, the SWX has issued a sanction decision that fines Bossard Holding AG with CHF 10,000.
Periodic financial reporting in compliance with applicable accounting and auditing regulations is part of the information that contributes to a functioning market, as required by the Swiss Stock Exchange Act and the SWX Listing Rules. One of the tasks of the SWX is to ensure that the transparency rules imposed on issuers are enforced.
Information on financial reporting regulations can be found at: http://www.swx.com/admission/being_public/financial_reporting_en.html
Sanctions imposed to date in connection with financial reporting can be found at: http://www.swx.com/admission/being_public/sanctions/media_releases/financial_reporting_en.html
