Commonality between the preparer and the user of financial information as a prerequisite for conveying meaning

Abstract

Preparers of financial information encode their message in an accounting language that needs to be decoded by users to enable them to understand and use the information properly. In order to convey meaning successfully, the sender and the receiver of a message need to use the same method to encode and decode the message, that is, there needs to be some commonality of language between the two parties. The research problem focuses on the issue of whether there is room to increase the commonality between the preparer and the user as a prerequisite for conveying meaning in corporate annual reports (CARS). The research problem was investigated mainly through questionnaires aimed at preparers and users of accounting information. It was found that the statutory and contextual sections of CARS are interdependent and could be utilised more in order to enhance the commonality of the accounting language for conveying meaning.