Government tightening rules

Thursday, Oct. 3, 2002 | 9:48 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing a rule to require companies that publish "pro forma" financial results to explain how they differ from earnings that follow U.S. accounting standards.

Pro forma figures, which exclude costs such as merger expenses, grew popular in the 1990s stock boom as technology companies tried to cast their finances in a more favorable light. About 1,500 companies used pro forma results in press releases last year before filing official reports under generally accepted accounting principles, according to industry estimates.

archive