THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a notice last Jan. 30, 2017, revising the standard form of the Statement of Management’s Responsibility (SMR) under Section 2(B) of the Securities Regulation Code Rule No. 68.

The revision is in line with the adoption of the new and revised auditor reporting standards, which are effective for audits of financial statements for periods ended on or after Dec. 31, 2016.

Highlights of the changes in the new form are:

u2022 Addition of the going concern assumption as second paragraph

u2022 Addition of the Board of Directors’ or Trustees’ responsibility to oversee the financial reporting process as third paragraph

The template of the revised SMR from three to five paragraphs is provided in the notice and can be found in the SEC website (www.sec.gov.ph).

SOURCE: PUNONGBAYAN & ARAULLO (P&A) IS THE PHILIPPINE MEMBER FIRM OF GRANT THORNTON INTERNATIONAL LTD.