It is better for businesses to report more frequently, rather than less ("Time to relook practice of quarterly reporting"; Feb 1).

Quarterly reporting has fewer issues and variances than in longer-period reporting.

Any issue, no matter how minor, is reported. This allows for greater transparency, instead of letting companies average out the issue over a longer period and make it a non-issue.

Financial reporting enables investors to better understand a business, as well as the condition of the industry and how the company may be affected by it.

More frequent updates on the company's performance ensures that there will be no sudden huge surprises, by which time investing or divesting opportunities might be lost.

As an investor, I do not invest in companies that do not have quarterly reporting.

I have not sensed that the companies felt the need to constantly have a better quarter than the previous one.

It is to be expected that there will be ups and downs in quarterly reporting, and it is acceptable as long as shortfalls are genuinely explained.

As for more time being needed to prepare a quarterly report, the company can modify the standard management reporting. It takes no more than three or four man-hours to prepare such quarterly reports.

Surely it is not asking too much of board directors to have them review the company's performance four times a year.

Ong Poh Seng