Beyond Redemption: The Reporting Practices Of Unlisted Property Trusts

Abstract

The deterioration over recent years of the Australian real property market brought the focus of public attention on to the investment entities which manage holdings of real properties. Concerns grew particularly about the stability and liquidity of unlisted property trusts. Some of the worries related to asset valuations and whether the balance-sheet representations of trusts' real property reflected likely recoverable amounts. These concerns were realised on 23 July 1991 when the Federal Government announced a 12-month freeze on redemptions from all existing unlisted property trusts. The significance of the financial reporting policies of unlisted property trusts is amplified when their size is considered: for the quarter ending 30 June 1991, assets under management in unlisted property trusts which were members of the Investment Funds Association of Australia (IFA) totalled $6.7 billion. This article describes a survey of unlisted property trusts' general-purpose financial reports.