The Accounting Disasters Known as GAAP and IFRS

May 16th & 17th, 2017

©Copyright 2017 Valens Research. All rights reserved

How UAFRS* Data is Revolutionizing Financial Analytics
Presented by Professor Joel Litman

Opening Remarks by Rhys Spencer on Financial Data Quality and Availability

*UAFRS Uniform Adjusted Financial Reporting Standards

The “erosion in the quality of earnings” and financial statements in general has been growing for more than two decades. Financial analyses and valuations are inherently getting less reliable. Might “Uniform Accounting” be the solution?

Professor Joel Litman is Chief Investment Strategist in Valens Research covering equities, corporate credit, and global macroeconomic analysis. He is a Full Professor in the Master of Finance, MBA, and Executive MBA Programs at Hult International Business School, a highly ranking international business programs according to FT, Economist, and Bloomberg Businessweek. 

Register below to save your seat for this complimentary program. This program also counts for 1.5 hours of Continuing Education for Chartered Financial Analyst charterholders.

Update 5/11: Due to demand, we have added a few more extra seats at the venue -- so both May 16 and 17 sessions are open to registrations again.

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Litman is a member of the Board of Directors of COL Financial Group (PSE:COL) and serves as Chairman/CEO of Valens Research.

Litman has appeared on CNBC Singapore, has been quoted in Barron’s and Institutional Investor, and published in Harvard Business Review. He co-authored the highly-acclaimed book, DRIVEN: Business Strategy, Human Actions, and the Creation of Wealth. Litman has taught and/or guest-lectured at Harvard Business School, Wharton, and LBS as well as for CalPERs, Fidelity, Credit Suisse, among others.

Litman is one of the most prolific speakers in CFA and CPA/CA Societies around the world. He has served as a judge in the Global CFA Institute’s Investment Research Challenge six times.

In 2009, just as the dust was settling from the last major equity and credit market crises, we launched a boutique research firm with the intention of breaking Wall Street’s biases and broken incentives:

• GAAP and IFRS have failed to provide rules for reliable financial statement reporting
• Stock analyst recommendations are not grounded in disciplined financial analysis
• Credit agencies have been set up to grossly fail in their responsibilities to investors and the public markets
• Utter lack of willingness of major research firms to employ the the most advanced forensic analysis available 

We sought to provide investors and company analysts with a source of information that changed all that.

Many years later, our business model remains because little has changed on Wall Street.

• Corporate credit ratings remain years behind the fundamental underpinnings of company performance
• Stock analysts continue to make recommendations with deeply inherent biases
• Research firms have failed to break down the walls between credit, equity, and macroeconomic research
• The governing accounting bodies have created more leeway for mis-estimates and mis-classifications as financials have become unwieldy and overwhelming

The integrity of Valens Research is founded in our disciplined processes and analytics. No “star” analysts. No corporate advisory relationships. No-nonsense opinions and recommendations.

What Others Are Saying...

International Financial Reporting Standards and GAAP have led to financial statements that are inconsistent, incomparable, and materially distorted. Earnings, assets, debts — even revenues — are being mis-reported around the world.

The underlying research is undeniable. Recent programs in New York, Boston, Chicago, London, and Hong Kong have received highest marks from financial professionals.   

The trend toward “Uniform Accounting” is based on a global restatement of financial statement data using consistent uniform adjustments. How does equity, credit, and even macroeconomic research change when viewed through UAFRS based analytics? 

Download your complimentary copy of the precursor working paper here.