The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) is investigating over 20 companies amid suspicions that they doctored their financial results during the current reporting season.

According to reports on Monday, the Securities Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZ) is worried that the listed companies omitted crucial information in their reports released in the last two weeks.

Most firms reported profit declines in the year under review.

The country's he Public Accountants and Auditors Board (PAAB) and the ZSE monitoring panel are reportedly scrutinizing the reports and investigations are expected to last three weeks.

"The PAAB has indicated that in the next three weeks it would have completed reviewing results for companies which published financials for the period ending December 31 2012.

"The board would then advise the ZSE on whether the companies met the minimum required reporting standards.

"Those companies that fail to meet these standards may either republish the results or correct the anomalies in the next set of results depending on how off they would have missed the mark," the privately owned NewsDay newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying on Monday.

SECZ has in the past said there is need to balance ethics, self-policing and regulations to ensure the success of the country's capital markets.

State listed firms have in the past resisted publishing their financial results, a move that often prejudiced investors.

Meanwhile, a leading securities firm says foreign participation on the ZSE which is targeting $5billion recapitalization by December is expected to improve this year.

In its 2013 Zimbabwe equity strategy outlook report, Invictus Securities said foreign participation on the local bourse had improved steadily from 35,4 percent to more than 47,2 percent of total value traded in 2012.

The trend which began after the country formed an inclusive government and adopted a multiple currency regime in 2009 is expected to continue in the current year.

Since 2009, foreign investor participation on the ZSE has averaged 40 percent with the balance being accounted for by local investors.

This is a reversal of past performance when foreign investors accounted for the majority of trades on the ZSE.

In recent times, foreign investors have adopted a wait-and-see attitude as they fret over Zimbabwe's indigenization policy, which compels all foreign-owned companies to surrender majority shareholding to locals.