In addition to information regarding the impact of estimates and assumptions on operating performance and financial condition, FR-72 encourages companies to analyze “how accurate the
estimate/assumption has been in the past, how much the estimate/assumption has changed in the past, and whether the estimate/assumption is reasonably likely to change in the future” (SEC 2003). In our sample, few companies report this information in CAE disclosures. Only 25 sample firms (untabulated) provide data in the MD&A of critical accounting estimates that
would enable an assessment of the past accuracy of pension estimates. For example, in its 2010