Insights from the investment community

PwC is continually deepening its understanding of investors' viewpoints. Through our work with the Institute we use various tools like surveys and meetings -- both large and small -- to hear directly from investors so we can learn what they are thinking.

Investor views

The Audit (April 2013) Accurate and reliable financial statements are essential to the effective functioning of the capital markets. To that end, auditors play an important role by executing independent and objective audits of the financial statements that are prepared by management.

Non-GAAP measures (April 2013) Companies in the United States typically follow generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) when preparing financial statements. A non-GAAP measure is defined as a measure that excludes (or includes) amounts that are included (or excluded) in the most directly comparable measure calculated in accordance with GAAP. However, non-GAAP measures do not include operating and statistical measures (e.g., unit sales or numbers of employees) or measures of performance for each segment required to be disclosed by the accounting standards.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis, investor views (February 2013) The MD&A requirements call for a discussion of: the historical financial results for the period covered by the financial statements (typically three years), liquidity, capital expenditures, off-balance sheet arrangements, contractual obligations, and known prospective information. They also encourage management to describe matters that are most significant in the company’s circumstances and to avoid boilerplate discussions.

Segment footnote disclosures, investor views (February 2013) US accounting standards require public companies to disclose, in their financial statement footnotes, segment data based on the “management approach”, under which investors are provided with a view of the business through the eyes of management.

Investor surveys

Investor Perceptions of Audit Firms, an independent survey of the investment community Investors view the audit as an important piece in the puzzle that contributes to their overall confidence in a company's financial reporting. Yet, historically there has been very little direct communication between auditors and the investment community. This independent survey asks investors what they are looking for from auditors, and from financial reporting in general.

PwC Real Estate Investor Survey: PwC (December 2012) This PwC Real Estate Investor Survey is widely recognized as an authoritative source for capitalization and discount rates, cash flow assumptions, and actual criteria of active investors, as well as property market information. Each quarterly issue of the survey contains national highlights.

Investors anticipate opportunities in commercial real estate across all ... (December 2012) Greater investor optimism in retail, especially for national regional malls; technology office markets and warehouse sector showed steepest cap rate declines in Q4.

Do investors care about corporate sustainability? Research uncovers seven ... (March 2012) A review of investor research reveal a trend that more investors are using corporate sustainability reporting to inform investment strategies. Sustainable investing outpaces the growth rate of conventional investment assets under professional management.

This site provides educational materials regarding accounting and other topics generally for informational purposes only. PwC is not providing tax or investment advice, recommending tax or investment strategies or recommending anyone or anything for the purpose of effecting or influencing securities transactions.

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