§ Methodology terms
Soft pass
Glossary version 2026-07-12.v1 · reviewed July 12, 2026
A report flag indicating the company passed our quality gate but with a yellow card on a specific quality metric — most often OCF/NI < 0.8 or working-capital deterioration.
A soft pass is an internal accounting-quality diagnostic. It identifies metrics that need explanation, such as weak cash conversion, unusual accruals or tax effects. Analysts assess their implications for forecast assumptions and discuss material risks in the report. This diagnostic does not determine or cap the rating, which reflects the analysis price relative to the accepted fair-value midpoint.