Rating: 
Summary: Long Live the Revolution!
Review: The Value Reporting Revolution offers a much needed attack on the status quo of financial reporting and, even more importantly, suggests some remedies. Weaving cases and data from original research, academic papers, and the business press, Eccles et al. have written an accessible guide with minimal accounting jargon and even touches of humor.After thorough analysis of the shortcomings of today's "earnings game," the authors map out a comprehensive approach to determining and sharing key financial and nonfinancial data that will help all business stakeholders assess a company's value. By using internal performance measurement tools such as the Balanced Scorecard for external reporting, companies can focus more clearly on creating value rather than face a quarterly scramble to burnish their earnings picture. Nonfinancial disclosure would also improve decision making for investors by providing a more complete picture of company operations and strategy. In addition to promoting a commitment to improved ongoing communications, the authors note that the Internet and recent financial disclosure regulation have enabled new entrants to develop and distribute a range of economic information and services that compete directly with traditional Big-5 and Wall Street firms. This could signify the end of the "double-secret, uber-whisper" the earnings rumors that reach (and reward) only a subset of a subset of people in the know. As an organizational consultant, this book was very helpful in clarifying the network of relationships among companies, analysts, regulators, accountants, and investors - and showing how they misestimate value and often move markets based on limited, asymmetric information. ValueReporting suggests an alternative way for companies to account for themselves that is aligned with sound management and sound investing.
Rating:
Summary: The ValueReporting Revolution
Review: The ValueReporting Revolution brings together an astounding amount of real, relevant (and highly controversial) information on how the capital markets currently function, a terrific framework for understanding what is needed to enable greater transparency and therefore efficiency, and compelling arguments for change. Remarkably entertaining given the seriousness and ground-breaking nature of its central thesis. An important read for corporates hoping to understand how to achieve better public market valuations, and for buy and sell side analysts concerned about current industry trends.
Rating:
Summary: A Fundamental Book
Review: The words "compelling" and "accounting" are seldom used in tandem, but there is no other way to describe this call to arms written by former Harvard Business School professor and three accountants at PricewaterhouseCoopers. The book, which is framed as a manifesto for change in the world of corporate reporting, is written in un-accountant-like language bordering on the subversive. It's main message: Traditional corporate reporting practices are inadequate and downright dangerous in the New Economy. They are inadequate because they don't capture the non-financial measures and intangible assets that now drive value. They are dangerous because they force investors to rely too heavily on short-term financial results, thereby contributing to unprecedented volatility in global equity markets. The authors' remedy? Disclosure of more and better information. This new model is presented in such detail that executives could use it as a blueprint in building new corporate reporting regimens. But you needn't be a corporate leader to appreciate the far-reaching implications of this book, which we at getAbstract.com recommend to all professionals as a - yes - compelling analysis of the current practice and evolving future of corporate reporting and its standards, pivotal benchmarks in the global economy.
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