Websites and Social Media
The Instrument applies to a reporting issuer in respect of its disclosure, on a website and social media, of a specified financial measure.
A reporting issuer should not disclose a specified financial measure using social media, if it is unable to include or incorporate by reference all the required disclosure.
The Instrument applies to an issuer that is not a reporting issuer in respect of its disclosure of a specified financial measure in a document if the document is filed with a regulator or a securities regulatory authority in connection with a distribution made in reliance on the offering memorandum exemption under NI 45-106, including the following documents:
The Instrument does not apply to disclosure required under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) related to an issuer’s material mineral project. For example, Item 22 of Form 43-101F1 Technical Report requires an issuer to disclose an economic analysis that includes certain financial measures. Section 5.4 of Form 51-102F2 Annual Information Form requires an issuer to disclose certain measures such as capital and operating costs, and annual cash flow, net present value, internal rate of return, and payback period disclosed in an economic analysis.
The Instrument does not apply to these measures because they are specifically required to be disclosed under NI 43-101. However, if an issuer discloses a financial measure that is not specifically required to be disclosed under NI 43-101, for example, EBITDA, it may be considered a specified financial measure and, thus, is within the scope of the Instrument.
The Instrument does not apply to disclosure required under National Instrument 51-101 Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities (“NI 51-101”). However, disclosures of oil and gas metrics that are made under section 5.14 of NI 51-101 are subject to the requirements of the Instrument because such disclosure is made on a voluntary basis.
The Instrument does not apply to reports that are prepared by a person or company other than the issuer or entity that is the subject of the specified financial measure. An example is an analyst report disclosed by an issuer (i.e., either through posting a copy of this analyst report or by providing a link to such a report on its website), where this report has been prepared by a person or company other than the issuer (i.e., a “third-party”) and contains financial measures that provide information about the issuer itself (i.e., “the subject of the specified financial measure”).
Examples of these “third-party” reports include analyst reports, fairness opinions and valuation reports. These reports may also include those filed under subparagraphs 9.1(1)(a)(vi) or 9.2(a)(v) of National Instrument 41-101 General Prospectus Requirements, subparagraphs 4.1(1)(a)(vi) or 4.2(a)(iv) of National Instrument 44-101 Short Form Prospectus Distributions, section 2.5 of Form 51-102F4 Business Acquisition Report or Part 6 of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions.
However, when an issuer discloses a specified financial measure that has been taken from such a report prepared by a person or company other than the issuer, this specified financial measure is within the scope of the Instrument.
The Instrument does not apply to pro-forma financial statements included in a filing required under securities legislation, such as pro-forma financial statements required to be included in a business acquisition report under NI 51-102.
The Instrument does apply to pro-forma financial statements included in a filing made on a voluntary basis (i.e., it is not explicitly required under securities legislation).
Paragraph 4(1)(e) includes financial measures disclosed in accordance with prescribed (i.e., mandatory) requirements under applicable securities legislation, for example, disclosure of earnings coverage ratios prescribed by Item 9 of Form 41-101F1 Information Required in a Prospectus. Voluntary disclosure that is permitted but not required by other securities legislation is subject to the requirements of the Instrument.
The Instrument also does not apply to a financial measure that is disclosed in accordance with the laws of a jurisdiction of Canada, or jurisdiction outside Canada, including governments, governmental authorities and SROs. This exclusion is, however, only applicable in situations when a financial measure is required to be disclosed and the law specifically specifies its composition.
If an issuer discloses a financial measure that is prepared in accordance with voluntary guidance published by a government, governmental authority or SRO that is applicable to the issuer, then the financial measure is subject to the requirements of this Instrument.
The Instrument does not apply to an issuer in respect of disclosure of a specified financial measure where its calculation is derived from a financial covenant in a written agreement, for example, a specified financial measure whose calculation and composition are derived from a financial covenant within a credit agreement.
The Instrument does not apply to an issuer that is a registered firm in respect of disclosure of a specified financial measure if (i) the document in which the disclosure is made is intended to be, or is reasonably likely to be, made available to a client or a prospective client of the registered firm, and (ii) the measure does not relate to the registered firm’s financial performance, financial position or cash flow. Examples would include a report prepared and disclosed by a registered firm, such as an analyst report which contains data and analysis of an unrelated issuer or entity.
In the context of Form 51-102F6 Statement of Executive Compensation (“Form 51-102F6”) or Form 51-102F6V Statement of Executive Compensation – Venture Issuers (“Form 51-102F6V”), if a financial measure is identified (e.g., adjusted net income) and the calculation is described (e.g., net income adjusted for foreign exchange gains or losses) but no financial amount is disclosed (i.e., no dollar amount), it would not be within the scope of the Instrument because a financial measure has not been disclosed, only identified and described.
If a specified financial measure that is in scope of the Instrument is disclosed in Form 51-102F6 or Form 51-102F6V (e.g., adjusted net income of $X), as outlined in subsection 4(2) of the Instrument, only the following information is required, as applicable: the identification of the non-GAAP financial measure under paragraph 6(1)(b) and the quantitative reconciliation of the specified financial measure under clause 6(1)(e)(ii)(C), paragraph 9(c) or clause 10(1)(b)(ii)(C).