Operationalising the Qualitative Characteristics of Financial Reporting
The study examined the perception of Nigerian accountants on the quality of financial reporting and the use of qualitative characteristics in the measurement of financial reporting quality. The objective was to demonstrate how the qualitative characteristics, as defined by the IASB can be operationalised. The study adopted a survey approach. 120 copies of structured questionnaire, designed in accordance with the underneath attributes of the qualitative characteristics, were distributed to professional accountants in three major cities in Nigeria. The data generated from the survey was analysed using tables, percentages, mean and descriptive analysis. Findings indicate that the qualitative characteristics of financial reporting can be operationalised if we pay attention to the underneath attributes of these main characteristics, namely; relevance, faithful representation, comparability, verifiability, understandability and timeliness. The results further indicate that the respondents perceived faithful representation and relevance as having greater potential of enhancing the quality of financial reporting, with an average mean score of 3.2 and 3.1 respectively. The type of auditor's report (3.6) the use of fair value as a basis for measurement (3.4) the presence of information which explains the assumptions and estimates made in the financial statements (3.4) as well as information which explains the choice of accounting principles used in the preparation of financial statements (3.4) are also the underneath attributes which enhance the quality of financial reporting to a great extent. Findings also revealed that, although the adoption of IFRS has greatly impacted the quality of financial reporting, training on IFRS and qualitative characteristic based study are still scanty. The study recommends training of accounting personnel on IFRS and more research studies in this area.