Citing the annual plight of “…thousands of hapless regulators who slog through their work,” non-profit banking industry advocate group, Let’s Make Federal Accounting Obvious (LMFAO) has proposed a radical change to financial reporting.
Industry Group Weighs In
The suggested overhaul was announced at a financial press event called by LMFAO president Rita Auditwell. As cameras rolled and bloggers jotted, she noted: “Each year, a mountain of financial reporting is filed from community banks all across the U.S. Our organization operates to ensure that required bank reports are clear in what they’re communicating. Further, we work to ensure that oversight bodies in receipt of those filings reach an in-depth level of understanding in the documents that banks file, so as to better assess financial stability and health, and let’s face it, the communication style of the 2020’s and beyond isn’t what it used to be.”
“Our concern,” Auditwell continues, “is that the sheer volume of reporting—and its high-level complexity—require some kind of comprehension accommodation from filers that ensures clear understanding of the details being submitted by the U.S. banking system.”
A Worthy Change to Financial Reporting
Auditwell then announced her proposal: “LMFAO is therefore working to enact a worthy change to financial reporting, one that will raise engagement not only in the oversight process but also in the information coming in from the U.S. banking system.
“We’re calling on the regulatory bodies to enact a requirement for all official filings to include as many emojis as possible.”
Increased Engagement
She then laid out her vision: She sees a financial reporting process whose engagement is heightened by peppering reports with:
👏 Clapping hands, indicating a good financial year or a particularly advantageous development
😭 Loudly crying face, signifying a fiscal downturn or notable loss
🤔 Thinking face, showing that corporate leaders are still plotting out future actions
💀 Skull, representing a serious fiscal downturn or market difficulty
Numerous Advantages
In noting upsides, Audiwell says, “Think of the increased engagement! Sheesh, nowadays, hardly anyone reads financial report filings. Imagine what a few clown faces or hearts would do to keep the attention of someone slogging through all those numbers.”
She also notes that emojis are evolving into a “universal language” with almost instant understanding. “C’mon,” she chides, “who doesn’t know what a heart or party favor means?” Last, she points out that emojis are shortcuts to understanding. With their use, she believes auditors can save time by assessing a bank’s health faster, depending on the thumbnail visual presented.
Auditwell ended the press event quickly, refusing all questions. She did, however, signal her enthusiasm for the proposed change with a big grin and a thumbs-up to the press as she left the presentation podium.
As with all federal actions that affect the U.S. financial services industry prior to approval, this proposal has been opened for industry comment. The window for banks’ official, written, and notarized assessments of the emoji proposal is Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
