Decision-usefulness of financial reports, Research Report No 5: The decision-usefulness of financial reports and the future of (financial) reporting

This is the final report in a series of five reports based on a research study that explores the decision-usefulness of financial reports of Australian listed companies. The first four reports in this series emphasised that, despite recent criticism that financial reports are increasingly not meeting the needs of users, recent Australian evidence indicates they are still of relevance to equity investors. While the results suggest financial reports are not sufficient in isolation to meet the information needs of investors, there is no indication of a decline in the decision usefulness of financial reports in Australia, contrary to research findings internationally. This report details the policy implications of these findings and provides recommendations about the future direction of financial reporting. In particular, based on the findings documented in the previous four reports the following recommendations are provided: 1. To prescribe the inclusion of subtotals such as EBIT and EBITDA into the statement of financial performance to enhance its informativeness; 2. To permit the continued disclosure of firm and industry-specific non-GAAP performance metrics, with regulators to consider a framework offering guidance on the preparation and salience of these alternative performance metrics within firm disclosures; 3. To foster Australian firms adopting a broad perspective of reporting that coalesces financial and non-financial information; 4. To reconsider segment reporting requirements with the aim of enhancing the consistency, comparability, and comprehensiveness of segment-related disclosures; and 5. To consider the impact of any proposed changes to financial reporting on the relevance and faithful representation of audited financial statements.