Relevance or Reliability, that is the Question. Can the Accounting Profession have both?

Investors, creditors, and other users of financial information are relying less on audited financial statements and are looking beyond those reports when making investment decisions. Culture in the United States and around the globe is shifting attention towards environmental and social issues and how corporations are addressing these priorities. This and other non-GAAP reporting is expanding with virtually no generally accepted guidance and little assurance. The reports are not comparable, prepared using multiple guiding frameworks, and are generally unaudited. The accounting profession must now address the relevance of the current financial reports and the reliability of the new information investors and others are using.