Reporting earnings - GAAP vs "cash earnings"

Ernst and Young have recently released a report (pdf file link here) on how companies communicate their earnings information. They look at the top 20 ASX listed firms, and find that 18 of them report a different earnings figure in their media release to their statutory (GAAP) profit and loss figure in their accounts. They find variation in both the number of adjustments from GAAP and the type of adjustments. The companies themselves seem to be suggesting that the adoption of the international accounting standards (AIFRS) has led to a decline in the 'usefulness' of GAAP earnings, and that the reporting of something closer to "cash earnings" (however defined) will provide more useful information.