Big companies will be obligated to publish financial reports

Big private companies and state companies will soon be obligated by law to produce their financial reports on an annual basis after the records have been screened by an independent accountant. It will also be mandatory for these companies to allow the public access to their financial records. The financial records must be in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Companies that do not comply with the rules and the law will face hefty fines and other sanctions after having been found guilty of an economic crime. The bill that is aimed at making it mandatory for big companies to produce and publish their financial records every year will be discussed in Parliament on Thursday. MP Jennifer Geerlings-Simons (NDP), one of the initiators of the bill, explained that the legislation is aimed at discouraging corruption. It will also create records that can be compared with those from foreign companies. “The plan is for the world to have one system,” said the legislator as she referred to the IFRS system. She also explained that this system will bring transparency within state companies. Existing internal forms of annual reports may be maintained but it will be mandatory by law to produce the financial reports according to the international standards.

MP Amzad Abdoel (NDP), chairman of the Commission of Rapporteurs, pointed out that Suriname is one of the very few countries that still does not have a law on annual reports. He also pointed out that nearly all of the countries within the Caribbean region have this law. “So why is it taking so long for us to have one too? Even countries with a population of 50,000 inhabitants already have a law on annual reports,” said MP Abdoel. MP Asiskumar Gajadien (VHP) who is also a member of the commission pointed out that the government sets rules for others but does not obey those same rules. “A ministry’s budget is many times bigger than what we expect of transparency at companies. We still have not been able to discuss the annual reports from the ministers,” said MP Gajadien who added that the government is not capable of doing its own bookkeeping.