User:Dzonatas/Article:Forward-looking statement

A forward-looking statement generally refers to any statement that cannot sustain itself as only a historical fact. It usually predicts, projects, or uses future events as expectations or possibilities.

Overview
The aspect of a forward-looking statement is its perspective. The inverse perspective is a backward-looking statement, which is about historical facts or, at least, it establishes them. Although the forward-looking statement is not purely about historical facts, it still exhibits an expository tone.

Linguistic perspective
Sentences and phrases are forward-looking statements when they include any tense from present to future or similar inflection. Words, such as "believe," "estimate," "anticipate," "plan," "predict," "may," "hope," "can," "will," "should," "expect," "intend," "is designed to," "with the intent," "potential," the negative of these words or such other variations thereon or comparable terminology, may indicate forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not forward looking.

In Social Science
An essay needs to be reader-oriented, wrote to the perspective of the reader, so the reader may come to the same conclusion that the essay presents. If it successfully concludes the essay's thesis with reflection, it is a backward-looking statement. Otherwise, the conclusion is a forward-looking statement, which presents a prospective view on the essay's thesis. It further points out any unsuccesfully, or simply unsatisfactorily, unanswered questions in the essay, and it makes limitations evident while it gives implications and direction for further study. 

United States law
Under U.S. law, section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, businesses must comply to standards of communication that limit risk factors. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. Businesses usually include a form of a disclaimer that states any instance of a forward-looking statement found in their material is only true at the time it was written, and they further claim that they are under no obligation to update such written statements if conditions change or that unexpected occurrences happen to affect the statement afterwords. Such forward-looking statements, however, must be identifiable by the use of certain prescribed words.

Other links

 * History and legal analysis of forward looking statements

Reference
Forward-looking information - navigating in the safe harbor. Schneider, Carl W.; Dubow, Jay A. Business Lawyer. August, 1996.