The Relevance of Varieties of Accounting Information: A U.S.A. Survey

Diverse kinds of financial information have been claimed to be relevant, for one purpose or another. A survey by mailed questionnaire over seven professional groups in five large U.S. cities sought to discover whether certain valuation rules yielded serviceable amounts in specific problem settings or in representations of financial position and income. Most of the questions were posed in the form of simple problem situations. To questions relating to wealth, spending power and financial position, large majority responses rejected conventional accounting values and endorsed market selling prices. To questions on income calculation, majorities favouring use of the same principle were smaller. Cross-tabulations of answers on financial position and income showed substantial inconsistencies; a hypothetical explanation is given. A comparison is given of responses to some questions in similar surveys in Australia and South Africa.