There is an interesting point in ASIC’s latest financial reporting enforcement action beyond the $4.356 million in infringement notices.
ASIC is increasingly using data to identify companies that have not met their financial reporting obligations.
Its latest action involved 22 large proprietary companies that allegedly failed to lodge their audited financial reports on time for the 2025 financial year. Each has paid an infringement notice of $198,000.
More interestingly, ASIC says that in 2026 it engaged with 234 companies across a broad range of sectors. According to ASIC, 193 had allegedly failed to lodge their 2025 financial reports and, following ASIC’s enquiries, 147 lodged one or more outstanding reports.
Some companies apparently told ASIC they were not even aware of their lodgement obligation until ASIC contacted them; this is worth thinking about.
A proprietary company’s financial reporting position is not something that should simply be assumed to remain the same from year to year. Changes in the size of the business, its ownership or corporate structure can affect its reporting obligations. Large proprietary companies are among the companies required to lodge financial reports with ASIC, although the precise obligations depend on the circumstances and available exemptions or relief.
There is another reason to keep the position under review. The Government has proposed increasing the thresholds used to determine whether a proprietary company is “large”, but ASIC confirms those changes are not yet in effect and the existing thresholds continue to apply for now.
The practical lesson probably isn’t simply to lodge financial reports on time. It is to make sure the company knows what it is required to prepare, audit and lodge in the first place.
ASIC’s increasingly data-driven approach also makes it less sensible to assume that an overlooked obligation will remain overlooked.