Sebi Urges CFOs To Decrease Delay In Publication Of Annual Reports

Sebi Regulations: Capital market watchdog Securities Exchange Board of India urged Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) to decrease the time taken to publish annual reports. The market regulator said that CFOs should lessen the gap between the day on which companies publish their financial results and their complete annual reports, in order to boost the confidence of market investors according to a report by the Economic Times.

The report cited Ananth Narayan who is a whole time member of the Sebi. Narayan spoke at the ETCFO NextGen 2025 and urged CFOs to engage more with audit committees in order ot create more accountable and transparent disclosures.

Narayan also mentioned that the present gap between the publishing of full annual reports and annual results typically ranges between 70 to 140 days, according to the report. Narayan also emphasised that the full report contains critical details such as notes to accounts, internal controls report, audit key matters, and CARO (Companies Auditor's Report Order). Narayan stressed that these details can enhance investors' transparency.

Speaking at the event, Naryan also highlighted that CFOs should aid audit committees and auditors in charting the audit plan for the year. Narayan said that CFOs should go beyond simply complying with accounting standards and embrace the spirit of the law.

He added that the number of unique investors has grown to 13 crore at present from just 4.2 crore in March 2020. Narayan added that mutual funds account for six crore unique investors, which is nearly triple compared to the number of unique investors investing in mutual funds six years ago. Notably, the mutual fund industry touched a milestone as Rs 6 lakh crore were mobilised in equity-oriented funds in FY 2024-25. Narayan said that amid this rise in participation in the securities market the need for transparency trust between companies and investors has become important.

However Narayan also warned about growing challenges in safeguarding investor trust such as Type I errors like governance failures, tech breakdowns, fraud, and manipulation. And Type II errors wherein over-regulation can potentially stifle innovation.

Narayan also told CFOs to participate in Sebi's consultative processes. The market regulator holds several consultative processes via its advisory committees, public consultations and regulatory working groups. He urged CFOs to organise and represent themselves in the above-mentioned forums.