The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is launching electronic filing for reports required for distributions made under various prospectus exemptions, such as the minimum amount and accredited investor exemptions.
In a staff notice published Thursday, the OSC says that issuers and underwriters that are required to file a report of exempt distribution can now file electronically, instead of in paper format. An electronic version of the form for reporting an exempt distribution is being made available on its website today.
The OSC says that filing electronically is currently voluntary, but that it expects to move towards mandatory electronic filing in the future. For now, it is “encouraging” filers to use the new E-form whenever possible, “as we anticipate that it will be faster and more efficient.” The information required to be included in the report has not changed and no new reporting requirements are being added.
According to the OSC, the total amount of capital raised through exempt distributions reported to the OSC in 2011 was approximately $142.9 billion, and approximately $86.5 billion of that was raised in Ontario. As a result, thousands of reports are filed with the OSC each year. The regulator’s goal in providing an E-form is to make it easier for filers to prepare and file the report, and easier for it to review the data contained in these reports.
“Obtaining the data electronically will make it possible for us to search and sort the data more efficiently and improve the quality of the data we receive,” it says.
The commission is planning to hold a couple of training sessions on the new E-form in July.
Separately, the OSC published another notice today that provides guidance to issuers, underwriters and their advisors in filing exempt distribution reports. The notice provides tips designed to help issuers and underwriters avoid certain deficiencies in completing and filing these reports.