Applying Fundamental Qualitative Characteristics The following statements describe the usefulness of accounting information.
Required: For each statement a through f, indicate which fundamental qualitative characteristic best applies (relevance or faithful representation), and then, which subset of the fundamental characteristic best applies (predictive value, confirmatory value, materiality, completeness, neutrality, or freedom from error).
Fundamental qualitative characteristic Statement characteristic a. A company's Form 10-K statement includes two or three years of financial statement history, which is a source of information for investors in forecasting future earnings. Relevance - predictive value b. An investor reviewed the notes to the financial statements to assess a company's debt structure. The investor was interested in the interest rate on the loans, the terms of the notes, future payments, and related debt covenants. Faithful representation - completeness c. Standards on the company's consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows, regardless if it has a positive, negative, or immaterial impact. Faithful representation - neutrality d. An investor of a company reconciled forecasted sales for the year to actual sales for the year, discovering that the company outperformed its forecast by 20%. Relevance - confirmatory value e. Although not a historically large amount, a company reports the amount of inventory obsolescence due to the subjectivity in estimating the amount. Faithful representation - materiality f. The observation of a physical inventory count is a way that auditors can obtain assurance that the inventory value recorded in the financial statements is accurate. Faithful representation - freedom from error