Nine out of 10 portfolio managers believe that corporate financial reporting needs to be upgraded, according to a recent survey of fund managers by New York-based capital markets firm Broadgate Consultants Inc.

The survey of portfolio managers was intended to gather views of proposals by the Financial Accounting Standards Board for the development of certain new standards in financial reporting, and possibly requiring more information about intangible assets that are carried on balance sheets.

FASB says that it is considering reforms in response to the controversies about the overall quality of financial reporting and pro forma reporting. The board will not deal specifically with pro forma reporting, which is not an accounting standard, but will attempt to define some terms and how they are displayed.

For all the criticism of pro forma financial reporting, most of the professional investors surveyed find pro forma reporting useful. Almost 76% said that they found pro forma accounting at least somewhat useful, and many of these said that it is extremely useful.

About 67% are opposed to banning pro forma reporting from press releases, but 91% of those felt that corporations should provide more detail in their pro forma statements.

Portfolio managers are somewhat divided about whether or not FASB should broaden the scope of its project to require companies to include financial metrics such as ratios in their statements.

Almost all managers (95%) would like more consistency in how Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) is calculated; 60% want more information about intangible assets.

“The results of the survey clearly reveal that professional investors want more detail, precision and clarity in financial statements,” said Thomas Franco, chairman and chief executive officer of Broadgate. “However, it is noteworthy that investors also appear to recognize the obvious limitations with pro forma results, but consider such reporting valuable in assessing the ongoing performance factors driving the businesses they follow.”