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CHAPTER 2: [RESERVED FOR THE CHAPTER ON THEREPORTING ENTITY]16CHAPTER 3: QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OFUSEFUL FINANCIAL INFORMATIONIntroductionQC1. The qualitative characteristics of useful financial informationdiscussed in this chapter identify the types of information that are likely to bemost useful to the existing and potential investors, lenders, and other creditorsfor making decisions about the reporting entity on the basis of information in itsfinancial report (financial information).QC2. Financial reports provide information about the reporting entity’seconomic resources, claims against the reporting entity, and the effects oftransactions and other events and conditions that change those resources andclaims. (This information is referred to in the Conceptual Framework asinformation about the economic phenomena.) Some financial reports also includeexplanatory material about management’s expectations and strategies for thereporting entity and other types of forward-looking information.QC3. The qualitative characteristics of useful financial information5Qualitative Characteristics of Useful Financial Informationapply tofinancial information provided in financial statements, as well as to financialinformation provided in other ways. Cost, which is a pervasive constraint on thereporting entity’s ability to provide useful financial information, applies similarly.However, the considerations in applying the qualitative characteristics and thecost constraint may be different for different types of information. For example,applying them to forward-looking information may be different from applying themto information about existing economic resources and claims and to changes inthose resources and claims.QC4. If financial information is to be useful, it must be relevant and faithfullyrepresent what it purports to represent. The usefulness of financial information isenhanced if it is comparable, verifiable, timely, and understandable.Fundamental Qualitative CharacteristicsQC5. The fundamental qualitative characteristics are relevance and faithfulrepresentation. 5Throughout this Conceptual Framework, the terms qualitative characteristics andconstraint refer to the qualitative characteristics of, and the constraint on, useful financialinformation.17RelevanceQC6. Relevant financial information is capable of making a difference in thedecisions made by users. Information may be capable of making a difference in adecision even if some users choose not to take advantage of it or already areaware of it from other sources.QC7. Financial information is capable of making a difference in decisions ifit has predictive value, confirmatory value, or both.QC8. Financial information has predictive value if it can be used as an inputto processes employed by users to predict future outcomes. Financial informationneed not be a prediction or forecast to have predictive value. Financialinformation with predictive value is employed by users in making their ownpredictions.QC9. Financial information has confirmatory value if it provides feedback(confirms or changes) about previous evaluations.QC10. The predictive value and confirmatory value of financial informationare interrelated. Information that has predictive value often also has confirmatoryvalue. For example, revenue information for the current year, which can be usedas the basis for predicting revenues in future years, also can be compared withrevenue predictions for the current year that were made in past years. Theresults of those comparisons can help a user to correct and improve theprocesses that were used to make those previous predictions.MaterialityQC11. Information is material if omitting it or misstating it could influencedecisions that users make on the basis of the financial information of a specificreporting entity. In other words, materiality is an entity-specific aspect ofrelevance based on the nature or magnitude or both of the items to which theinformation relates in the context of an individual entity’s financial report.Consequently, the Board cannot specify a uniform quantitative threshold formateriality or predetermine what could be material in a particular situation.Faithful RepresentationQC12. Financial reports represent economic phenomena in words andnumbers. To be useful, financial information not only must represent relevantphenomena, but it also must faithfully represent the phenomena that it purportsto represent. To be a perfectly faithful representation, a depiction would havethree characteristics. It would be complete, neutral, and free from error. Ofcourse, perfection is seldom, if ever, achievable. The Board’s objective is tomaximize those qualities to the extent possible.18QC13. A complete depiction includes all information necessary for a user tounderstand the phenomenon being depicted, including all necessary descriptionsand explanations. For example, a complete depiction of a group of assets wouldinclude, at a minimum, a description of the nature of the assets in the group, anumerical depiction of all of the assets in the group, and a description of what thenumerical depiction represents (for example, original cost, adjusted cost, or fairvalue). For some items, a complete depiction also may entail explanations ofsignificant facts about the quality and nature of the items, factors andcircumstances that might affect their quality and nature, and the process used todetermine the numerical depiction.QC14. A neutral depiction is without bias in the selection or presentation offinancial information. A neutral depiction is not slanted, weighted, emphasized,deemphasized, or otherwise manipulated to increase the probability that financialinformation will be received favorably or unfavorably by users. Neutralinformation does not mean information with no purpose or no influence onbehavior. On the contrary, relevant financial information is, by definition, capableof making a difference in users’ decisions.QC15. Faithful representation does not mean accurate in all respects. Freefrom error means there are no errors or omissions in the description of thephenomenon, and the process used to produce the reported information hasbeen selected and applied with no errors in the process. In this context, free fromerror does not mean perfectly accurate in all respects. For example, an estimateof an unobservable price or value cannot be determined to be accurate orinaccurate. However, a representation of that estimate can be faithful if theamount is described clearly and accurately as being an estimate, the nature andlimitations of the estimating process are explained, and no errors have beenmade in selecting and applying an appropriate process for developing theestimate.QC16. A faithful representation, by itself, does not necessarily result in usefulinformation. For example, a reporting entity may receive property, plant, andequipment through a government grant. Obviously, reporting that an entityacquired an asset at no cost would faithfully represent its cost, but thatinformation probably would not be very useful. A slightly more subtle example isan estimate of the amount by which an asset’s carrying amount should beadjusted to reflect an impairment in the asset’s value. That estimate can be a
faithful representation if the reporting entity has applied properly an appropriate
process, described properly the estimate, and explained any uncertainties that
significantly affect the estimate. However, if the level of uncertainty in such an
estimate is sufficiently large, that estimate will not be particularly useful. In other
words, the relevance of the asset being faithfully represented is questionable. If
there is no alternative representation that is more faithful, that estimate may
provide the best available information.
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Applying the Fundamental Qualitative Characteristics
QC17. Information must be both relevant and faithfully represented if it is to
be useful. Neither a faithful representation of an irrelevant phenomenon, nor an
unfaithful representation of a relevant phenomenon, helps users make good
decisions.
QC18. The most efficient and effective process for applying the fundamental
qualitative characteristics usually would be as follows (subject to the effects of
enhancing characteristics and the cost constraint, which are not considered in
this example). First, identify an economic phenomenon that has the potential to
be useful to users of the reporting entity’s financial information. Second, identify
the type of information about that phenomenon that would be most relevant if it is
available and can be faithfully represented. Third, determine whether that
information is available and can be faithfully represented. If so, the process of
satisfying the fundamental qualitative characteristics ends at that point. If not, the
process is repeated with the next most relevant type of information.
Enhancing Qualitative Characteristics
QC19. Comparability, verifiability, timeliness, and understandability are
qualitative characteristics that enhance the usefulness of information that is
relevant and faithfully represented. The enhancing qualitative characteristics also
may help determine which of two ways should be used to depict a phenomenon if
both are considered equally relevant and faithfully represented.
Comparability
QC20. Users’ decisions involve choosing between alternatives, for example,
selling or holding an investment, or investing in one reporting entity or another.
Consequently, information about a reporting entity is more useful if it can be
compared with similar information about other entities and with similar
information about the same entity for another period or another date.
QC21. Comparability is the qualitative characteristic that enables users to
identify and understand similarities in, and differences among, items. Unlike th
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