what are non gaap measures 
companies can present certain figures without following gaap guidelines as long as they identify them as non gaap companies sometimes do that when they believe the gaap rules don t fully capture specific operational nuances in such cases they may provide specially designed non gaap metrics alongside the required gaap disclosures however investors should be cautious with non gaap measures as they can sometimes be used to present a misleading view of a company s performance 12the bottom linegaap is meant to ensure consistency accuracy and transparency in financial reporting and aims to provide a reliable foundation for investors to make informed decisions while the rules established under gaap generally improve the transparency in financial statements they don t guarantee that a company s financial statements are free from errors or omissions meant to mislead investors always scrutinize financial statements as there can still be room for manipulation within the framework of gaap 