Information contained in the financial statements must be
free from bias. It should reflect a balanced view of the affairs of the company
without attempting to present them in a favored light. Information may be
deliberately biased or systematically biased.
Deliberate bias
Deliberate bias occurs where circumstances and conditions
cause management to intentionally misstate the financial statements.
Examples
◾Managers of a company are
provided bonus on the basis of reported profit. This might tempt management to
adopt accounting policies that result in higher profits rather than those that
better reflect the company's performance inline with GAAP.
◾A company is facing serious
liquidity problems. Management may decide to window dress the financial
statements in a manner that improves the company's current ratios in order to
hide the gravity of the situation.
◾A company is facing litigation.
Although reasonable estimate of the amount of possible settlement could be
made, management decides to discloses its inability to measure the potential liability
with sufficient reliability.
Systematic bias
Systematic bias occurs where accounting systems have
developed an inherent tendency of favoring one outcome over the other over
time.
Example
Accounting policies within an organization may be overly
prudent because of cultural influence of an over cautious leadership.
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