In a communication to SEBI, chamber President L Lakshman pointed out that frequent disclosures apart from bringing in an element of speculation will also entail difficulties to many medium sized companies as they will be required to prepare full set of accounts including balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Lakshman said the present requirement of disclosing half yearly results is adequate in view of fluctuating economic situation caused by changing government policies. A shift to quarterly disclosures would be cumbersome and confusing even to the ordinary shareholder.

Welcoming in principle SEBI's suggestions on consolidation of accounts, Lakshman said while the chamber was in agreement withthe basic concept, it should be implemented over a period of time in view of the small size of Indian enterprises and the apprehension that the consolidation may disclose weakness of some companies within the group which may adversely affect the future of the group as a whole.

Assocham has disfavoured SEBI's suggestion on segment reporting saying such an action will harm the interests of the companies since it will provide sensitive information to competitors. An investor is primarily interested in the overall performance of the company. Providing him any information on segment reporting will not serve any purpose, it stated.