Creditor protection : a study into the relevance, use and justification for the publication of abridged financial statements for registered private exempt companies in Malta

Abstract

Information on clients is crucial for business organisations to achieve a satisfactory level of creditor protection. Various institutions and regulatory boards such as the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the International Accounting Standard Board, amongst others, recognise the fact that abridged accounts have too little information and hence utility, especially since these are normally made available or published many months after the end of any financial year. Although the research carried out to date on this subject is limited, or never undertaken with respect to the business community in Malta, the empirical study carried out for this dissertation supports the conclusions made by other researchers on the relevance and utility of abridged financial statements, namely that the information provided by these statements is insufficient and of little utility, if not practically useless. At the same time, the respondents’ replies did not provide the required platform to make a call to amend the current Companies Act in such a way as to give the necessary protection to creditors, through adequate and timely information. Apart from the need for further research studies, the setting up of a committee to be made up of representatives of all the stakeholders, including suppliers and service providers, clients and official institutions such as the Chambers of Commerce and other local authorities, is also recommended. The main task of this committee will be to study creditor protection in relation to the type and content of published financial statements. Moreover, the committee will also start a process of consultation with legislators towards finding the right formula, with which both preparers and users of the published accounts would feel better protected in their decision making process.