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Whenever a CEO complains about quarterly accountability I ask them “would you like your direct reports to check in with you once a year?” It is ironic as manag
by jshaqaw 7y ago
Whenever a CEO complains about quarterly accountability I ask them “would you like your direct reports to check in with you once a year?” It is ironic as management move towards real-time 24/7 dashboards to track key metrics, every 3 months is viewed as an inappropriate timeframe to judge progress or lack thereof.
The fact is public market investors are desperate to find high return places to invest capital. There is a shortage not a glut of long term opportunities to invest capital at an adequate rate of return. Companies that can do so are well rewarded by the marketplace. Those that aren’t either aren’t generating adequate returns on invested capital or are unable to communicate their prospects.
- roguecoder 7y agoGoing the other direction would be interesting: if companies produced ongoing metrics, there might be fewer rewards for gaming them and less impact from missing one hour's target. I doubt either the SEC or the accountants are interested in going that direction, but it seems like it is the periodic nature that is the problem, rather than the specific length of time. Perhaps there should be a Continuous Reporting movement.
- jshaqaw 7y agoThat’s an interesting concept long term. Some investors are (perfectly legally to be clear) mining big data sources to try and replicate real time monitoring of many companies. Maybe to level the playing field companies will have to provide much more frequent disclosures. For now, as an investor, I find quarterly results a decently optimal balance of factors.