CFOs Break the Silence: First Broad Survey in Decades Shows How Private Firms Really Report

GAAP is Common — but Not Always “Pure”

The research team emailed more than 42,000 CFOs and ended up with 542 usable responses, mostly from small and mid-sized businesses.

When asked how they prepare financial statements:

  • 68% said U.S. GAAP
  • 25% said GAAP with exceptions (translation: “GAAP… mostly,” with carve-outs)
  • 22% said tax- or cash-basis accounting
  • Less than 1% said they don’t prepare financial statements at all

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.