FIA-FFA- FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING

REFERENCE- CHAPTER 3
THE QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Introduction to the Framework

The Framework for the preparation and presentation of financial

statements is a set of principles which underpin the foundations
of financial accounting. It is a conceptual framework upon which
all lFRSs are based and hence which determines how financial
statements are prepared and the information they contain. The
Framework is not an accounting standard in itself.
The Framework deals with:
(a)
The objective of financial statements
(b) The qualitative characteristics that determine the
usefulness of information in financial statements
(c)
The definition, recognition and measurement of the
elements from which financial statements are constructed
(d) Concepts of capital and capital maintenance
The Framework sets out two important underlying assumptions
for financial statements, the going concern concept and the
accruals basis.
Going concern
This concept assumes that, when preparing a normal set of
accounts, the business will continue to operate in approximately
the same manner for the foreseeable future (at least the next 12
months). In particular, the entity will not go into liquidation or
scale down its operations in a material way.
The main significance of the going concern concept is that the
assets should not be values at their 'break-up' value (the amount
they would sell for if they were sold off piecemeal and the
business were broken up).
If the going concern assumption is not followed, that fact must be
disclosed, together with the following information.
(a) The basis on which the financial statements have been
prepared.
(b) The reasons why the entity is not considered to be a going

concern.
Accruals basis
The effects of transactions and other events are recognised when
they occur (and not as cash or its equivalent is received or paid)
and they are recorded in the accounting records and reported in
the financial statements of the periods to which they relate.
According to the accruals assumption, in computing profit
revenue earned must be matched against the expenditure
incurred in earning it. This is also known as the matching
convention

The qualitative characteristics of financial information

The four principal qualitative characteristics are
understandability, relevance, reliability and comparability.
Other important qualitative characteristics and concepts
include fair presentation, consistency and the business entity
concept.
Understandability
Users must be able to understand financial statements. They are
assumed to have some business, economic and accounting
knowledge and to be able to apply themselves to study the
information properly. Complex matters should not be left out of
financial statements simply due to their difficulty if the
information is relevant.
Relevance
Information has the quality of relevance when it influences the
economic decisions of users by helping them evaluate past,
present or future events or confirming, or correcting, their past
evaluations. Information should be released on a timely basis to
be relevant to users.
The relevance of information is affected by its nature and
materiality. Information is material if its omission or misstatement
could influence the economic decisions of users taken on the
basis of the financial statements. In preparing accounts it is
important to assess what is material and what is not, so that time
and money are not wasted in the pursuit of excessive detail.

Determining whether or not an item is material is a very

subjective exercise. There is no absolute measure of materiality. It
is common to apply a convenient rule of thumb (for example
material items are those with a value greater than 5% of net
profits). However some items disclosed in the accounts are
regarded as particularly sensitive and even a very small
misstatement of such an item is taken as a material error. An
example, in the accounts of a limited liability company, is the
amount of remuneration (salaries and other rewards) paid to
directors of the company.
Reliability
Information must also be reliable to be useful. The user must be
able to depend on it being a faithful representation. Information
has the quality of reliability when it is free from material error and
bias and can be depended upon by users to represent faithfully
that which it either purports to represent or could reasonably be
expected to represent
Faithful representation
Information must represent faithfully the transactions it
purports to represent in order to be reliable. There is a risk
that this may not be the case, not due to bias, but due to
inherent difficulties in identifying the transactions or finding
an appropriate method of measurement or presentation.
Where measurement of the financial effects of an item is so
uncertain, enterprises should not recognise such an item

Substance over form

The principle that transactions and other events are accounted for
and presented
in accordance with their substance and economic reality and not
merely their legal form.
For instance, one party may sell an asset to another party and the
sales documentation may record that legal ownership has been
transferred. However, if agreements exist whereby the party
selling the asset continues to enjoy the future economic benefits
arising from the asset, then in substance no sale has taken place.

Neutrality

Information must be free from bias to be reliable. Neutrality is lost

if the financial statements are prepared so as to influence the
user to make a judgement or decision in order to achieve a
predetermined outcome.

Prudence
This is the inclusion of a degree of caution in the exercise of the
judgements needed in making the estimates required under
conditions of uncertainty, such that assets or income are not
overstated liabilities or expenses are not understated.
Prudence must be exercised when preparing financial statements
because of the uncertainty
surrounding many transactions. It is not permitted, however, to
create secret or hidden reserves using prudence as a justification.
There are three important issues to bear in mind.
(a) Where alternative procedures or valuations are possible, the
one selected should be the one which gives the most cautious
result.
(b) Where a loss is foreseen, it should be anticipated and taken
into account immediately. Even when the exact amount of the
loss is not known, an estimate of the loss should be made, based
on the best information available. If a business purchases
inventory for $1,200 but, because of a sudden slump in the
market, only $900 is likely to be realised when the inventory is
sold, the prudence concept dictates that the inventory is valued
at $900. It is not enough to wait until the inventory is sold, and
then recognise the $300 loss; it must be recognised as soon as it
is foreseen.
(c) Profits should only be recognised when realised in the form of
cash or another asset with a reasonably certain cash value.

Completeness
Financial information must be complete, within the restrictions of
materiality and cost, to be reliable. Omission may cause
information to be misleading.
Comparability
Users must be able to compare an entity's financial statements:
a) Through time to identify trends
(b) With other entity's statements, to evaluate their relative

financial position, performance and changes in financial position.

The consistency of treatment is therefore important across like
items over time, within the entity and across all entities.
The disclosure of accounting policies is particularly important
here. Users must distinguish between different accounting
policies to be able to make a valid comparison of similar items in
the accounts of different entities.
Comparability is not the same as uniformity. Entities should
change accounting policies if they become inappropriate.
Corresponding information for preceding periods should be shown
to enable comparison over time.
Fair presentation
Financial statements are required to give a fair presentation or
present fairly in all material respects the financial results of the
entity. Compliance with IFRSs will almost always achieve this.
The following points made by IAS 1 Presentation of financial
statements expand on this principle.
(a) Compliance with IFRSs should be disclosed
(b) All relevant IFRSs must be followed if compliance with IFRSs is
disclosed
(c) Use of an inappropriate accounting treatment cannot be
rectified either by disclosure of accounting policies or
notes/explanatory material
There may be (very rare) circumstances when management
decides that compliance with a requirement of an IFRS would be
misleading. Departure from the IFRS is therefore required to
achieve a fair presentation.
IAS 1 states what is required for a fair presentation.
(a) Selection and application of accounting policies
(b) Presentation of information in a manner which provides
relevant, reliable, comparable and understandable information
(c) Additional disclosures where required.
Consistency

To maintain consistency, the presentation and classification of

items in the financial statements should stay the same from one
period to the next, except as follows.
(a)There is a significant change in the nature of the operations or
a review of the financial statements indicates a more
appropriate presentation
(b) A change in presentation is required by an IFRS.
The business entity concept
In preparing accounts the business should always be treated as a
separate entity from its owners. This means the transactions of
the owner should never be mixed with the business's
transactions. This applies whether or not the business is
recognised in law as a separate legal entity
SUMMARY
(a) Relevance. The information provided satisfies the needs of
users, helping them to evaluate past, present or future events
and confirming or correcting their past evaluations.
(b) Reliability. The information is free from material error or bias
and is a faithful representation.
(c) Faithful representation. The information gives full details of its
effects on the financial statements and is only recognised if its
financial effects are certain.
(d) Neutrality. The information is free from bias.
(e) Completeness. The information must present a rounded
picture of its economic activities.
(f) Comparability. The information should be produced on a
consistent basis so that valid comparisons can be made with
previous periods and with other entities.
(g) Understandability. Information may be difficult to understand
if it is incomplete, but too much detail can also confuse the issue.
The balance between qualitative characteristics
A trade-off between qualitative characteristics is often necessary,
the aim being to achieve an appropriate balance to meet the
objective of financial statementsThe relative importance of these

characteristics in each case is a matter for professional

judgement.
Relevance vs reliability
Information may become irrelevant if there is a delay in reporting
it. There is a balance between timeliness (ie relevance) and the
provision of reliable information. Information may be reported on
a timely basis when not all aspects of the transaction are known,
thus compromising reliability.
Prudence
The prudence concept lays down that revenue and profits are not
anticipated but should only be recorded when earning is
reasonably certain. Expenses and liabilities should, however, be
recorded when anticipated, as best estimates if no actual figures
are available.
A loss in value of an asset, whether realised or not, should be
recorded when it arises, but a gain in value of an asset should not
be recorded except via an unrealised reserve and only then if
properly warranted.
An example of the application of the prudence concept is the
requirement to value inventory at the lower of cost and net
realisable value.
This is all very well, but it can lead to problems, of which the
following can be identified as the most significant.
Prudence most obviously conflicts with the accruals assumption
because it requires that the matching of costs and revenues
should not take place if there is any doubt about the future
recoverability of deferred costs. This conflict has been
summarised as 'should we report the worst possible situation
(prudence) or the most likely position?'
Prudence also conflicts with the going concern assumption
because it may not be prudent to assume that a business is a
going concern (although it is realistic).
Prudence makes it difficult to treat items consistently because
circumstances in one period may require a different treatment
from previous periods in order to be prudent
Prudence also undermines several other assumptions. For
instance, objectivity is regarded as important by most users of

accounts but prudence (or conservatism as it is sometimes called)

implies a subjectivity in coming to accounting judgement
Balance between benefits and cost
When information is provided, its benefits must exceed the costs
of obtaining and presenting it. This is a subjective area and there
are other difficulties. As well as the intended users, others may
gain a benefit from reading the accounts. The cost may be paid
by someone other than the users. It is therefore difficult to apply a
cost-benefit analysis, but preparers and users should be aware of
the constraint.