Accounting information can be used by business owners to carry out a financial analysis of the businesses and their operations. The use of this information for such function is attributed to the fact that it usually contains quantitative and qualitative characteristics. While quantitative characteristics are the calculations of financial transactions while qualitative characteristics can be described as the business owner's apparent significance of financial information. In essence, qualitative characteristics of financial information are attributes that contribute to the usefulness of information provided in financial statements. Since these qualities can sometimes be at odds with each other, they need to be balanced against each other. In addition, these qualities are essential in decision making because they provide the basis for assessing businesses and the effectiveness of their operations.
Fundamental Qualitative Characteristics:
As previously mentioned, qualitative characteristics in accounting are attributes that result in the usefulness of provided financial information by users. These characteristics are important in the modern business environment because of their significance in making business decisions. Actually, these characteristics help in promoting appropriate decision-making and correct assessments of business operations (Vitez, n.d.). Generally, the qualitative characteristics of accounting information are classified into two categories i.e. fundamental/principal and enhancing qualities.
One of the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial information is relevance, which refers to the ability of the provided accounting information to remain aligned with the purpose to be accomplished. Generally, accounting information should always relate to a particular period of time or consist of information about...
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