Accounting firm Deloitte says it has discovered a company using nine different measures of profit in its annual report.
It surveyed the 2011 annual reports of 100 firms to see how many of them use profit measures that differ from the standard net-profit-after-tax.
It found that 89 of the companies did so, with more than half using three or more measures of underlying profit.
Deloitte partner Denise Hodgkins says the practice can bewilder investors.
The Financial Markets Authority is finalising its position on what information should be disclosed in reports.
It is attempting to address concern from analysts that the use of alternative profit descriptions is misleading investors.
