Some corporations used to play fast and loose with financial reports, or at least with that portion of the financial reports that were prepared according to GAAP and which ones weren’t. GAAP – generally accepted accounting principles.
“Firms Say Goodbye to Prettied-Up Financial Reports,” The Wall Street Journal, August 30, 2016 B5. Firms used to front-end load some of their financial reports with “custom” treatments of the results, and put the legally required GAAP treatment “later.” Why? To make things look better, some say, or to reflect the unusual nature of that particular business. Your pick. Now, the GAAP treatment must come first, and the massaged (customized) treatment, later. I guess that’s better than prohibiting non-GAAP treatment altogether.
Management of information comes in many forms. Order of presentation is but one of them. Governing the management of information involves setting the rules “governing” that management.