What shareholder information on the shareholder spread is disclosed in the financial statements of JSE listed entities in accordance with listing requirements of the JSE?

The study was undertaken to determine whether companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange disclose shareholder spread in line with the available statutes such as the JSE Listing Requirements. Further, the study explored the closing balances for group, company, trusts, subsidiaries, and treasuries of all the 50 companies studied to ascertain whether there were differences with the ex WDH share program. Various sources to answering the question were used including the Internet, McGregor BFA, Annual Reports of the companies, and material from University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB).There were varying findings with regards to the study as it was found that some companies had differences in group, company, trusts, subsidiaries, and treasuries. Most of the differences were due to company mistakes, non-consolidation of trusts, and use of different methods. It was found that certain companies tend to omit certain information in disclosing the shareholder spread and this has resulted in many companies with differences in their closing balances for the company, group, trusts, subsidiaries, and treasuries.In addition, it was also discovered that certain companies disclosed major shareholders of less than the prescribed five percent which proved to be very helpful in this study.