Researchers frequently proxy for managers' non‐GAAP disclosures using performance metrics available through analyst forecast data providers (FDPs), such as I/B/E/S. The extent to which FDP‐provided earnings are a valid proxy for managers' non‐GAAP reporting, however, has been debated...

Researchers frequently proxy for managers' non-GAAP disclosures using performance metrics available through analyst forecast data providers (FDPs), such as I/B/E/S. The extent to which FDP data is a valid proxy for managers' non-GAAP reporting, however, has been debated extensively. We explore...

We examine analysts' GAAP earnings forecasts and illustrate their usefulness in two prominent research settings. First, we find that the availability of GAAP forecasts has increased dramatically since 2003, and they are now available for most I/B/E/S-covered firms. Next, we utilize GAAP...

We use a novel data set to examine the across-time consistency and across-firm comparability of firms’ non-GAAP earnings disclosures. Given widespread concern about non-GAAP reporting among regulators, standard setters, the investor community, and academics, our investigation provides timely...

We use a novel dataset to examine the across-time consistency and across-firm comparability of firms’ non-GAAP earnings disclosures. We begin by identifying firms that change their non-GAAP earnings definition from one year to the next. These deviations are uncommon, but when managers change...

The number of firms reporting earnings on a non-GAAP basis has dramatically increased over the past decade, and non-GAAP reporting is now commonplace in capital markets. This proliferation of non-GAAP reporting has renewed both regulators' and standard setters' interest in these alternative...