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Qualitative Characteristics of Accounting Information:
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.
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, there are four principal qualitative characteristics of accounting information i.e. relevance, reliability, understandability, and comparability.
As one of the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial information, relevance refers to the ability of the provided accounting information to remain aligned wi...

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...r handling of financial transactions and usefulness promotes applicability of the information in decisions. Relevance is used during trend analysis of financial information while reliability ensures the development and sustenance of accurate accounting information. In addition, relevance also ensures that accounting information is available to users at the appropriate time in the decision making process.
In conclusion, accounting information consist quantitative and qualitative characteristics, which play a crucial role in the use of accounting information. Generally, qualitative characteristics are attributes associated with the seeming importance of financial information and used for decision making. Some of the major qualitative attributes of accounting information include reliability, relevance, consistency, understandability, comparability, and usefulness.

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