Position Paper November 2016
Bridging the Gap
Ensuring Effective Non-GAAP and Performance Reporting
Bridging the Gap: Ensuring Effective Non-GAAP and Performance Reporting
View the full article (PDF)Abstract
Non-GAAP financial measures (NGFMs) are a core part of how companies communicate their performance, and they are meant to supplement measures required by accounting standards (e.g., US GAAP/IFRS). This publication articulates actions required to improve communication of these measures and enhance the overall performance reporting framework, building on an earlier part of this publication that addressed investor uses, expectations, and concerns on NGFMs. The first part and this publication are informed by a survey of CFA Institute members—mostly buy-side analyst and portfolio manager respondents.
About the Author(s)
Vincent Papa, PhD, CPA, CFA, is director of financial reporting policy at CFA Institute. He is responsible for representing the interests of CFA Institute on financial reporting proposals before the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). He is a member of the IFRS advisory council and ESMA Corporate Reporting Standing Committee, and a former member of the Financial Stability Board Enhanced Disclosure Task Force.
Sandra J. Peters, CFA, is head of financial reporting policy and serves as spokesperson for CFA Institute to key financial reporting standard setters including the IASB, FASB, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. She holds the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation.
Ms. Peters holds a BSBA in accounting from the University of Nebraska and an MBA in finance from Indiana University. She was awarded the CFA designation in 1998. Ms. Peters leads the Financial Reporting Policy team responsible for tracking all financial reporting issues, including coordinating the efforts of the Corporate Disclosure Policy Council, a key committee of CFA Institute volunteers that reviews and comments on financial reporting policy initiatives worldwide. She serves as spokesperson for CFA Institute to key financial reporting standard setters including the IASB, FASB, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and conducts outreach to other professional organizations and the media to discuss and promote financial reporting policies.
Ms. Peters has an extensive and well-balanced background as a user advocate, preparer, and auditor. Most recently, Ms. Peters served as vice president and corporate controller at MetLife Inc., where she managed a staff of 60 individuals and was responsible for SEC Reporting, Technical Accounting, SOX Controls, and HR Controllers.
Prior to joining MetLife, she was a partner at KPMG LLP providing audit services primarily for insurance and financial services companies with an emphasis on clients in the financial guarantee, reinsurance, and property and casualty sectors of the insurance industry. While at KPMG she spent three years in London as a member of the U.S. Capital Market Group, where she assisted several European-based multinational clients with U.S. GAAP conversion projects, the SEC registration process, and technical assistance on U.S. GAAP accounting issues and SEC disclosure matters.
Ms. Peters is a CPA licensed in New York, Texas, and Nebraska and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the New York Society of Securities Analysts (NYSSA). She is also member of the AICPA's Insurance Expert Panel.
Kurt N. Schacht, JD, CFA, is Head of Advocacy for CFA Institute. He is responsible for all aspects of policy advocacy, regulatory affairs and legislative outreach, focused on advancing investor protection, financial market transparency and fairness. Kurt serves on a range of stakeholder advisory groups engaged on investment management policy issues and was the former chair of the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee.
Prior to joining CFA Institute Kurt served as Chairman of the Investor Advisory Committee for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He has been involved in the investment management business since 1990, serving as chief operating officer for a retail mutual complex in White Plains, NY, general Counsel and COO for a Manhattan based hedge fund, and as chief legal officer for the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) in Madison, WI.