The Relevance of GAAP-Based Information: A Case Study Exploring Some Uses and Limitations.
通过观察专业分析师评估真实公司的过程，发现GAAP信息主要用于快速筛选不合适的投资对象，但在决定是否投资时作用较小，后者更依赖定性信息和分部数据。
Abstract Assessing the relevance of GAAP-based accounting information need not be limited to studying GAAP-mandated disclosures; such studies say little about what information the FASB should have provided. A comprehensive assessment must include a comparison of the relative roles of GAAP- versus non-GAAP-based information in the decision making process. This study examines information usage in the investment screening decision—the first phase of financial analysis, where the security analyst examines a potential investment candidate to determine whether it is worth pursuing. Given the large cost of a full-fledged financial analysis, few investment candidates make it past that stage. The methodology is an analysis of concurrent verbal protocols that were collected by observing professional financial analysts who were evaluating an actual, unfamiliar, NYSE-listed company. The results suggest that GAAP-based information primarily serves a screening function, in quickly eliminating unattractive investment candidates. It plays a much less significant role, however, in developing a positive case for investing in the company; this decision relies largely on qualitative information, and on information about individual segments. When deciding what company to invest in, analysts seek disaggregated, future-oriented information that allows them to assess the earnings potential of individual segments.