Independent Assurance Review Confirms Platts Aligns With IOSCO Principles for Oil Price Reporting Agencies

LONDON, Nov. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Platts, a leading energy, petrochemical and metals information provider, said today that an independent assurance review completed by Ernst & Young confirms that Platts' governance and controls framework, policies and editorial practices align with IOSCO's Principles for Oil Price Reporting Agencies.

"The results of the review confirm that Platts sets – and meets – high standards for price reporting," said Larry Neal, president of Platts. "Clearly defined and transparent methodologies are the heart of Platts' assessment processes. We are pleased that our methodology framework and control procedures provide reasonable assurance that the PRA principles have been achieved."

The reasonable assurance review included a comprehensive review of Platts' documentation of its processes for price assessments used for oil derivative contracts and observances of its practices in Houston, London and Singapore. The review was undertaken to meet IOSCO's recommendation that oil price reporting agencies engage an external auditor to review and report on the PRA's adherence to its stated methodology criteria and with the requirements of the IOSCO principles. A reasonable assurance review is the highest standard for this type of review.

"Platts has dedicated extensive resources to ensuring our alignment to the IOSCO Principles, and our efforts will continue as we work to align Platts' price assessment processes for other commodities that underlie financial derivatives contracts to the IOSCO Principles," Neal said.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published its Principles for Oil Price Reporting Agencies in October 2012. The Principles have been endorsed by the G20 and were referenced in IOSCO's Principles for Financial Benchmarks, published in July.

"Platts supports efforts by legislators and regulators to assure confidence in price benchmarks in the oil markets and other physical commodities markets that we cover," Neal said. "Our broad implementation of the IOSCO PRA Principles for oil and other commodities is evidence of this support."

Platts has published the full reasonable assurance review at www.platts.com, which includes the policies and procedures it has in place to meet each of the IOSCO Principles, and Ernst & Young's comments on those policies and procedures.  Details of Platts' methodologies can be found at www.platts.com/methodology-references.

The IOSCO Principles are available at www.iosco.org/library/pubdocs/pdf/IOSCOPD391.pdf.

About Platts:  Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets. Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency. Customers in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the biofuels, carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets. A division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), Platts is headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About McGraw Hill Financial: McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), a financial intelligence company, is a leader in credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. Iconic brands include: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power and McGraw Hill Construction. The Company has approximately 17,000 employees in 27 countries. Additional information is available at www.mhfi.com.

SOURCE Platts