EFRAG and ICAS issue financial reporting research report
09 Mar 2016
The EFRAG and ICAS have issued a research report, “Professional investors and the decision usefulness of financial reporting,” which examines the use of financial reporting by professional investors and how the results of the research may have standard setting implications.
The research report discovered that:
- “The objective of investors (valuation or stewardship) does matter.
- Investors are strongly anchored on the income statement.
- Investors have strong reservations about the representational faithfulness of bottom line figures.
- Regardless of its shortcomings, financial accounting information is a key input factor for investors' decision making.
- The quality of corporate governance, including audit, influences investors' assessment of the representational faithfulness.”
In addition, the research report noted that (1) different objectives for financial reporting need to be prioritised by standard setters; (2) income statements were considered more useful than the balance sheet; (3) standardised performance measures for the income statement need to be enhanced; and (4) "investors' perceptions of corporate governance significantly affect their views of representational faithfulness."
For more information, see the press release and report on the EFRAG’s website.
