Michael Piwowar made a funny:
Imagine a world where GAAP or other reporting standards did not exist – where management could develop its own numbers based on its own poorly-defined criteria. Management might be tempted to create numbers that provide the illusion of performance but in reality are largely irrelevant to measuring the actual performance of that organization. Reported numbers might be distributed for public consumption without clear disclosure as to how they were derived. These numbers could also be touted in press releases and other public statements by management in order to paint a flawed view of the organization’s productivity and effectiveness. But enough about the SEC’s enforcement statistics.
Here's a joke briefer for those feeling a little lost.

Representatives of large institutional investors told the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday that they had serious qualms about the London-based International Accounting Standards Board replacing the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board as the primary arbiter of accounting rules in this country.