Test prospective financial information against the reasonable-grounds guidance
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the draft disclosure document or product disclosure statement, list each forecast, projection or target, the period it covers, whether it concerns an existing business, and the assumptions papers the lawyer has collected. Mark any figure that rests on a hypothetical assumption. Do not rewrite the disclosure.
- What the lawyer must review
- The lawyer decides whether there are reasonable grounds to include the information, whether a period longer than two years can be supported, and whether a hypothetical assumption makes the figure misleading. The lawyer decides what is included.
- Written for / version
- US
Open a jurisdiction version of this task to see which instruments apply: US
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the draft disclosure document or product disclosure statement, list each forecast, projection or target, the period it covers, whether it concerns an existing business, and the assumptions papers the lawyer has collected. Mark any figure that rests on a hypothetical assumption. Do not rewrite the disclosure. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- RG 170.16 says a disclosure document or PDS should only include prospective financial information if there are reasonable grounds, even if management uses the figure internally.
- RG 170.39 says short-term estimates not exceeding two years, for an existing business, based on events or actions management reasonably expects, may establish reasonable grounds. A longer period is not covered by that sentence.
- RG 170.18 says information based on hypothetical assumptions is likely to be misleading. Flag those assumptions for the lawyer.
- The guide also applies to conduct under Corporations Act s 1041H. The lawyer, not the schedule, decides whether the figure is included.
Sources
- ASIC Regulatory Guide 170 · 2026-10-22
- RG 170 PDF · 2026-10-22
The guide on the ASIC page is the 1 April 2011 issue. The lawyer confirms it is still the current guide before reliance.
These are suggested working checks. Confirm the required checking with the responsible lawyer before work starts; the checking approach does not establish permission to use AI.