Recent CSA Staff Notices Focus On Non-GAAP And Income Trust Disclosure Deficiencies

CSA Staff Notice 52-306 (Revised) – Non-GAAP Financial Measures was issued in August of 2006. Its purpose is to provide greater guidance regarding the CSA’s views on disclosure of non-GAAP financial measures, including forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures. Staff Notice 52-306 revises the guidance provided in an earlier notice published in November 2003 and, as a result of the broader guidance contained in it, results in the withdrawal of CSA Staff Notice 52-303 – Non-GAAP Earnings Measures.

Since publishing the original Staff Notice 52-306, the CSA have concluded that distributable cash (a measure used by many income trusts) is, in all circumstances, a cash flow measure and is fairly presented only when reconciled to GAAP cash flows from operating activities. As a result, the original Staff Notice has been re-published to communicate the CSA’s expectations on how such reconciliations should be made.