Management discussion and analysis (MD&A) refers to Item 303 of Regulation S-K which requires the registrant’s management to give a narrative discussion of the company’s financial performance.
Item 303(a) states that the objective of the management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A) is “to provide material information relevant to an assessment of the financial condition and results of operations of the registrant.” This requires the registrant to discuss: liquidity and capital resources; financial results of operations, including “unusual or infrequent events” and “any known trends or uncertainties”; and critical accounting estimates, that is, “estimates made in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles that involve a significant level of estimation uncertainty.”
[Last updated in February of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]