So many of today’s most consequential risks sit outside the financial statements. Until they don’t. The gap between financial and non-financial risks is often illusory. Culture, data governance, cybersecurity, or reputation — these risks don’t stay “non-financial” for long once they go wrong. In an ideal world, accounting and reporting would not only record past performance but also signal looming threats, factoring in material non-financial information. It would empower boards to act before those risks crystallise, and enable markets to price them intelligently. But we don't live in the ideal world. The accounting profession is well aware of the limitations of today's standards, and they are moving to address that, albeit slowly. So, what, then, does it mean to “fairly present, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations”? At a minimum, it means not pretending not to know. A company may present a spotless balance sheet, yet if cyber vulnerabilities, conduct exposure, or climate liabilities accumulate in the background, is that presentation anything more than a partial truth?