RE: RNS Alert22 Apr 2021 11:28
In fairness to Mr Big, whether he is what he says he is or not, I can see his point of view as I am both an Ex City (FCMA) Accountant and now Chartered IFA. Statutory Annual accounts are indeed rarely delivered before their maximum deadline and are open to interpretation in some areas, like the one we are referring to. The nuts and bolts of debits and credits are easy and far from rocket science. Computers do the donkey work of everyday accounting, but in some areas where income and costs are less exact, and /or there are disputes over details, time and care needs to be taken before the figures are published. I worked for frighteningly profitable Fund Management and Pension companies who took the maximum time to declare their results, as referred to in a post above. I would also say that having worked alongside multi billion Fund Managers, they do read the Statutory Accounts but don't actually use them much when deciding, for example, whether to buy Asda or Sainsburys for the UK Equity fund as much of the data is "18 months" old and, like under Covid, things can change markedly in that time. Statutory Accounts are part of the investment story, but what is hoped for / expected in the future is usually of greater importance.