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Comment by toast0 | Hacker News Reader

There is a market for this, the OTC or pink sheets. At initial listing and if the company itself or its insiders or affiliates are selling, there are required financial disclosures.

I think there's resistance to public trading however because it generally requires more structured accounting (GAAP vs cash accounting), and invites external scrutiny and pressure.

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> requires more structured accounting (GAAP vs cash accounting), and invites external scrutiny and pressure.

aren't all these good things? Prevents both scamming, as well as ensuring that the founders take a careful look at their business, and that it isn't purely fueled by stock/investment, but is generating profit?

If I'm an investor, I want comparable accounting which means GAAP; if I'm a founder, maybe I just want to know what's in the bank account and don't want to deal with deferring recognition of income for long term contracts.

External scrutiny and pressure is a mixed bag. It probably reduces the chances of doing something stupid that destroys the company, but it also reduces the chances of doing something stupid that changes the world.

Non GAAP tends to be more informative though when looking for specifics on cash flow for example. I see more people using pro forma figures instead.

They are in many cases. But they can also be prohibitively time consuming and expensive for a small business - be it your corner bodega or the 5-person startup working out of your neighbors basement.

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