scholarly journals Quality of financial reporting: approaches to measuring

Author(s):  
Jurij Renkas ◽  
Olena Goncharenko ◽  
Olena Lukianets

<p>Financial reporting must meet many criteria to be considered high quality because it is the quality of information that determines the viability of future strategic decisions. The article investigates the essence of the concept of "quality" and "quality of financial infor-mation", and defines indicators and criteria of the financial reporting quality. As for the quality of the financial reporting, it is found that the latter is a structured reflection of financial condition and financial results of the entity, therefore, can be regarded as a set of components: quality of the financial information; quality of presentation of the financial information. It was found that the quality of the reporting of financial information is evaluated using a system of indicators that are qualified by the Financial reporting framework as the qualitative characteristics of useful financial information and National Accounting Statement (standard) 1 as the qualitative characteristics of financial reporting. In terms of formalization (presentation within the legislation forms) of the financial information presentation in Ukraine, we can speak of quality only in respect of the notes to the financial statements. It has been established that quality assessment indicators of presenting the financial information in the notes may be: readability of the information, visualization of the representation. Research of the quality requirements for the financial statements (information) of the participating countries of the former Soviet Union has identified many variations, but the most commonly used features are relevance, reliability, comparability and understandability. It is indicated that most post-Soviet countries, including Ukraine, gradually bring its legislation on the regulation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS. But there are still many unresolved differences, chief among which are the qualitative characteristics of the financial statements that should provide the information needs of different user groups.</p>

Author(s):  
Thuan Quoc Pham

Financial reporting quality is one the most interesting topics which draw a great deal of attention to researchers and scientists in the field of accounting (Céline Michailesco, 2010). In the review of research on financial information from 1980 to 2016, Pham (2016) found that characteristics of useful financial information are relatively diverse with as many as 15 attributes being identified. In addition, he also found that all research in any period has employed the characteristics published by professional associations such as American Institute of Accountants, Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB as theoretical basis. Research on the quality of financial information is diverse yet have many things in common, above all is the Relevance characteristic which considered to be the basic qualitative component of the quality of financial information in financial statements. Conceptual Framework officially issued by FASB & IASB in 2010 (FASB & IASB 2010) has further confirmed Relevance is the basic quality component of financial information. Compared with previous announcements, there has been a considerable change in the criteria and attributes used to evaluate the appropriateness of Relevance characteristic of financial information in financial statements. This study aims at confirming the importance of the Relevance component in evaluating the quality of financial information, clarifyingg the characteristics of Relevance measurement before and after Conceptual Framework 2010 and constructing relevant scales as well as measuring the qualitative characteristic of Relevance among enterprises in Vietnam.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 102-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Newman Wadesango ◽  
Edmore Tasa ◽  
Khazamula Milondzo ◽  
Ongayi Vongai Wadesango

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in its objectives and preamble, presume that IFRS adoption and perceived compliance to regulatory framework is associated with increased financial reporting quality. Based on these assumptions, this desktop study reviewed several documents to determine whether the IFRS adoption has led to increased financial reporting quality in Zimbabwe. The researchers reviewed literature on how the IAS/IFRS and regulations affect the financial reporting quality of listed companies. The factors around IFRS adoption were identified (mandatory, voluntary and convergence) and discussed in relation to the financial reporting quality. Evidence from previous studies conducted in line with this same issue shows that there is no conclusive evidence on how IFRS and regulations affect the financial reporting quality. Issues to be addressed in further studies include the importance of financial statements prepared under IFRS framework and the importance of compliance with accounting and auditing requirements.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabih Nehme ◽  
Mohammad Jizi

Purpose The quality of financial reporting for the financial institutions is vital for the public, as the negative consequences of manipulated financial statements will not only affect shareholders but also the regulators’ reputation and the society at large. The purpose of this paper is to assess the association between different corporate governance mechanisms and their impact on audit and reporting quality. The gender factor is introduced from a diverse boards’ perspective to highlight any impact of female presence on the quality of financial statements. Design/methodology/approach The authors examine a sample of financial institutions listed on the FTSE-350 index for the years 2011 to 2015. The financial sector has its own and different regulations, and financial reporting framework and auditors are expected to behave into more scrutiny. Bloomberg database is used to obtain governance and financial data, while firms’ annual reports are used to collect audit fees and audit committee information. A panel data regression is used to test hypotheses. The authors also control for unobservable heterogeneity, reverse causality and endogeneity. Findings The results suggest that boards with larger size and higher independence pay higher audit fees to enhance the monitoring capacity and protect the wider group of stakeholders. The results also show that women on boards are likely to reduce the risk of manipulated financial statements, as women are more inclined toward truthfulness, cautiousness and conservatism. In addition, the reported results show that audit committees with more independent members are more inclined toward obtaining higher quality audit to enhance firm’s reporting quality. Originality/value Given the recent governments’ intervention to avoid financial institutions’ negative impact on the economy, this study is relevant and provide policymakers insights into the existing relationships between audit fees and financial institutions’ governance structure.


Author(s):  
Олена Сергіївна Юрченко

Formulation of the problem. Based on the study, the prerequisites, features and components of the formation of accounting policies in the context of business continuity are revealed. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the theoretical and methodological and organizational provisions of accounting policy formation in the context of the implementation of the concept of continuity. The object of research is the process of formation of accounting policy and its impact on the quality of corporate financial reporting information. Methods used in the study: scientific knowledge, method of generalization, comparison, logical - meaningful, methods of induction and deduction. The main hypothesis is that the formation of accounting policies aimed at determining the regulations of accounting and reporting from the standpoint of reflecting complete and reliable information about the real value of assets and liabilities will help reconcile the interests of all stakeholders. Presenting main material. The article identifies the prerequisites, directions and elements of the formation of accounting policies on the principle of continuity of enterprises. Provisions on the development of theoretical and methodological foundations for the formation of accounting policies of enterprises on the basis of risk-oriented approach are revealed. The necessity of valuation of assets and liabilities according to the criteria: fair, discounted and market value of enterprises is substantiated and the methodological support of valuation of financial instruments in accounting is revealed. Originality and practical significance are proposals for the formation of methodological and organizational support and recommendations for the measurement of assets and liabilities at fair value in order to improve the quality of financial statements. Research findings. The formation of accounting policy in the context of the principle of continuity is based on the requirements of International Accounting Standards and National Accounting Standards and depends on the needs of management, methods and techniques of accounting. In the process of developing an accounting policy, it is necessary to take into account the information needs of various stakeholders to disclose information in corporate financial statements. The introduction of theoretical and methodological provisions for the formation of elements of accounting policy on the principle of continuity will meet the information needs of different users, improve the quality of financial reporting and assess the impact of accounting policies on the real value of enterprises in the future.


Author(s):  
Ben Kwame Agyei-Mensah

According to the IASB's IFRS framework, qualitative characteristics are the attributes that make the information provided in financial statements useful to others. This study was conducted to investigate the quality of financial reports before and after adopting IFRSs in Ghana, and also the influence of firm-specific characteristics which include firm size, profitability, debt equity ratio, liquidity and audit firm size on the quality of financial information disclosed by firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.The research was conducted through detailed analysis of the pre-official adoption period, (2006) and post adoption period, (2008) financial statements of the listed firms.  Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined.  This was followed by regression analysis which forms the main data analysis.  The results of the quality of financial information disclosure mean of 76.80% (pre adoption) and 87.09% (post adoption) for the two years indicate that the quality of financial reports has improved significantly after adopting IFRSs. The study thus confirms that the implementation of IFRSs generally reinforce accounting disclosure quality.  It also indicates listed firms' overwhelming compliance with the IASB's IFRS Framework.The results of the multiple regression analysis show that company size, represented by net assets and Auditor type were found to be associated at a statistically significant level with the quality of financial information disclosed.  With the improvement in the quality of the financial reports after adopting IFRS users are assured of useful information for financial decision-making.Keywords: Quality of financial reports' disclosure, Firm-specific characteristics, International Financial Reporting Standards, Mandatory disclosure, Ghana. JEL Classifications: M40, M41, M48


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Albana Gjoni-Karameta ◽  
Elona Fejzaj ◽  
Ahmad Mlouk ◽  
Kristina Sila

The last 20 years’ changes in accounting has led to an essential review process of national accounting standards due to the main objective of improving financial reporting information for stakeholders. Financial reporting as a communication tool has become extremely important for appropriate decision making to economic reporting entities and also financial information users such as analysts, creditors, managers, auditors and government agencies in Albania and all over the world. The absence of a generally accepted definition for qualitative financial reporting has created a gap for continuous research on this matter. The main objective of this study is to examine users’ perception of qualitative financial reporting, toward their perceptions of some selected qualitative characteristics of financial statements. This study aims to determine the attitudes of financial statements’ users toward the importance of qualitative characteristics of financial information reported on these published financial statements. The chosen   qualitative characteristics were relevance, faithful representation, comparability, timeliness, verifiability and understandability. An opinion survey was conducted on three hundred external users of financial statements, such as managers, bank officers, financial analysts, government officers and auditors. Each single characteristic has been operationalized using a structured questionnaire, and a five point Likert type scale was used. Selection process of qualitative characteristics of reported financial information will be based on the data taken from conceptual framework of international financial reporting standards published by the International Accounting Standards Board in a continuous process of improving financial reporting. This research examined primary data taken through an opinion survey directed to three hundred daily users of financial statements ‘information, reported by economic entities in Albania. Results of the study show a very strong positive correlation between users ‘perception and qualitative characteristic of faithful representation, a relatively strong positive correlation with relevance, comparability and understandability, and a moderate correlation with timeliness and verifiability. Users of financial reporting in Albania generally have a very positive attitude towards the qualitative characteristics of financial reporting.   Received: 3 July 2021 / Accepted: 23 August 2021 / Published: 5 November 2021


Author(s):  
Valentin Burca ◽  
Dorel Mates ◽  
Adriana Puscas

Abstract On the last decades the accounting system haven‘t been able to follow the dynamics of the economic systems generated by the globalization process. In order to reduce the lag between the demand of financial information and the offer of financial information, IASB has started numerous initiatives aiming the increase on the quality of the financial information. Among the current list of current IASB major projects there is also the project of revising the actual conceptual framework for financial reporting. This study is designed to give some directions that will be considered on the exposure draft of this project, analyzing the comment letters submitted by the members of ASAF and the Big4 as well. The study reveals the increasing importance the preparers and users give to the disclosures included on the notes to the primary financial statements. Moreover, on this study we emphasize several challenges that IASB has to face on issuing the exposure draft for this important project. Some of the main challenges refer to the narrow scope of the financial statements, the criteria used on classification, aggregation and offsetting, or the use of the materiality concept


Author(s):  
Aminu Abdullahi ◽  
Hadiza Ahmed Suleiman

The study assessed the perception of financial statement users on the extent of reporting quality following IFRS adoption in Nigeria. A comparative approach was utilized, where users’ (investors)opinions on reporting quality between the Statement of Accounting Standards (SAS) regime and the International Financial Reporting Standards regime were sought and compared. The results obtained from the structured Likert scale questionnaires were analyzed using the T-Test. It was found that all the qualitative characteristics of financial reporting which were used as reporting quality variables in the study have improved with the adoption of IFRS except for the extent of the ability of financial reports to confirm or correct prior user’s expectation which was discovered to be better during SAS regime. It was recommended that the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) should embark on advocacy aimed at educating investors’ especially, institutional on the issue of prediction and assessment of IFRS-based financial statements.


ETIKONOMI ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rini Rini ◽  
Adhariani Sarah

The study examined the relationship between the areas of financial reporting quality proxy by the audit opinion of the financial statements and the disclosure of local government (LKPD) districts, as well as the level of corruption in Indonesia. Study is qualitative and descriptive content analysis method (content) to process the data. The results of this study indicate that the quality of reporting of financial statements has increased as indicated by the improvement in the audit opinion above LKPD district in Indonesia. The second finding shows there is no link between the financial statement disclosures local government district with the opinion given by the BPK. The third findings showed case of corruption in Indonesian is increasing. The findings of the fourth, the disclosure of financial statements and audit opinions district has associated with the level of corruption in IndonesiaDOI: 10.15408/etk.v13i1.1875


2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert L. Nagy

SYNOPSIS: This study examines whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 404 (S404) compliance efforts lead to higher quality financial reports. An objective of S404 is to encourage companies to devote adequate resources and attention to their internal control systems, which should lead to more reliable financial statements. A natural laboratory of S404 compliance and noncompliance companies exists because the Securities and Exchange Commission has deferred the S404 compliance date for small companies (nonaccelerated filers). A logistic regression model is estimated using a sample of companies surrounding the S404 compliance threshold to measure the S404 compliance effect on the likelihood of issuing materially misstated financial statements. The results show a significant and negative relation between S404 compliance and issuance of materially misstated financial statements, and suggest that the S404 regulation is meeting its objective of improving the quality of financial reports.


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