Those "recurring non-recurring charges"...

- Now that the books for your 3Q are likely done, this WSJ piece is a timely read as you prepare for how to talk about the impact of COVID on your business. Specifically, how are you accounting for the costs of all those plexiglass dividers? Our May 22nd Autocorrect called the financial word of the week “EBITDAC” ("earnings minus coronavirus"), with just one quarter of earnings containing pandemic-related charges. This week, we get to view our third straight quarter of COVID-related costs, which while they may recur from quarter-to-quarter, are hopefully not indicative of the long-term operations of the business. “When we see recurring nonrecurring charges, they should be treated as a cost of doing business instead of being ignored,” notes David Zion of Zion Research Group. As before, giving as much detail on COVID-related expenses as possible should help your investors come up with the right treatments, but risks rise when your non-GAAP EBITDA values are used as inputs for financing covenants or other items found in legal documents. Treat this article and others like it as good reminders of the need for accurate communication here.