The new administration’s move to loosen Form 10-Q quarterly reporting requirements is stirring debate on Wall Street, Main Street, and in boardrooms. From my perspective as a former CFO of both public multinationals and Nasdaq-track startups, the issue is more nuanced than a simple “burden relief” for companies.
What is Form 10-Q?
Contrary to popular belief, a 10-Q is not an audited set of GAAP financials. Instead, it is largely a quarterly update: key performance indicators (KPIs), revenue and expense snapshots, and management discussion & analysis. For investors, it serves as a checkpoint between audited annual reports — a way to track earnings momentum and business direction.
Practical Relief for Finance Teams
From a purely operational standpoint, relaxing quarterly reporting sounds like a dream. Finance teams — already under heavy pressure — could free up significant resources. I have led CFO organizations where regulatory disclosures consumed disproportionate bandwidth, forcing us to sacrifice more strategic work like capital allocation and risk planning.
But here’s the reality: once the quarterly reporting infrastructure is built, producing a 10-Q is not the insurmountable task critics imagine. Investor Relations teams, under CFO supervision, can usually roll forward templates and update key numbers without reinventing the wheel each quarter.
The Short-Term vs. Long-Term Dilemma
The heart of the debate is really about short-termism versus long-term value creation.
For smaller companies with weak reporting infrastructure, mandatory quarterly filings can be a real burden.
Yet eliminating them entirely risks reducing transparency, inviting surprises, and amplifying volatility when only annual results hit the market.
Investors need a reasonable cadence of updates to make informed decisions. Annual earnings alone can swing dramatically, leaving markets guessing in the dark for too long.
A CFO’s Practical Accounting Advice
From a practitioner’s standpoint, I believe the 10-Q can be strategically reframed — not just as compliance, but as effective communication.
Think of it as an extension of monthly reporting:
Accounting teams already close the books regularly; that cadence can be recycled into quarterly filings.
The same data can feed FP&A, managerial dashboards, and ultimately investor communication.
Done right, the 10-Q is not just numbers — it integrates a multitude of risks (e.g. legal wrangling, FX, interest rates, supply chain, governance) and qualitative factors into the MD&A.
In other words, a 10-Q should align closely with IR strategy. It is not merely a regulatory hurdle, but a chance for management to proactively shape the narrative, build investor trust, and demonstrate accountability.
Where the Trade-Off Lies
As a CFO, I see the trade-off clearly:
Too much reporting → finance teams become compliance factories, with less capacity for strategy.
Too little reporting → investors face uncertainty, eroding trust and widening the cost of capital.
The real question is not whether to report, but how much information, how often, and in what form best balances accountability with long-term value creation.
Key Takeaway
If quarterly filings are scrapped, companies should still provide investors with timely performance indicators — even if not in SEC-mandated form. Transparency is not just regulatory box-ticking; it is a trust mechanism between management and capital markets.
In other words, the real danger is not distraction, but opacity. The goal should be reducing administrative burden without dismantling the flow of decision-useful information that underpins modern capital markets.
GARYO FINANCE advises boards, CFO teams, and investors on financial reporting, capital markets insights, M&A, and IR strategies. For more insights, connect with us:
Dai Kadomae, CFA, CPA
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