Interim Management Statements in the EU – An alternative vehicle for interim reporting? Part 1: Harmonisation process of interim reporting requirements in the EU

Eckerth S, Nienhaus M, Schirmacher H,

Abstract

As a new vehicle for interim reporting in the EU, Interim Management Statements (IMSs) were introduced in 2004 as part of the Transparency Directive to harmonise interim reporting. IMSs represent a compromise between full mandatory quarterly reporting and no mandatory quarterly reporting at all because IMSs require only a narrative explanation of the firm's financial position and performance. In Part 1, we review the harmonisation process in the EU from the pre-Transparency Directive interim reporting regime and the adoption of the Transparency Directive to the abolition of mandatory IMSs. We also compile and compare the diversity of the current interim requirements of the largest EU markets. In Part 2, we will shed more light on the reporting practice and use of IMSs.