what is pro forma 
pro forma means for the sake of form or as a matter of form when it appears in financial statements it indicates that a method of calculating financial results using certain projections or presumptions has been used pro forma financials are not computed using generally accepted accounting principles gaap and usually leave out one time expenses that are not part of normal company operations such as restructuring costs following a merger essentially a pro forma financial statement can exclude anything a company believes obscures the accuracy of its financial outlook and can be a useful piece of information to help assess a company s future prospects investopedia matthew collins