The process beyond the numbers and ratios

Abstract

Accounting numbers and ratios represent merely reflections of reality and have limited meaning and significance in and of themselves. They may contain embedded meaning, but extracting it requires creative skills of interpretation. The purpose of this study focuses on the conversion of data into knowledge, observations about the discovered world and the discovering person - the interpreter. An empirically tested reference base or proportional model is offered to assist in the performance of an organised interpretation.