AUDIT ASSURANCE AND MITIGATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AMBIGUITIES: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

Financial statements of an enterprise are reports that provide information about the performance of a business useful for decision making by stakeholders. Unfortunately, the statements are often plagued with vagueness due to ambiguities. The study examined the causes of these ambiguities and explor...

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Main Author: Sani Alfred Ilemona
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Kwara State University, Malete Nigeria 2025-06-01
Series:Malete Journal of Accounting and Finance
Subjects:
Online Access:https://majaf.com.ng/index.php/majaf/article/view/224
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author Sani Alfred Ilemona
author_facet Sani Alfred Ilemona
author_sort Sani Alfred Ilemona
collection DOAJ
description Financial statements of an enterprise are reports that provide information about the performance of a business useful for decision making by stakeholders. Unfortunately, the statements are often plagued with vagueness due to ambiguities. The study examined the causes of these ambiguities and explored ways they (ambiguities) could be mitigated. Relevant literature on the subject matter available from published articles available on the internet and in the library was reviewed. From the review, it was found that factors such as lack of clarity in disclosures, inconsistent application of accounting policy, use of jargon or technical terms, estimates in financial statements that require management judgment, subjectivity in valuation of items and inclusion of related party transactions to be the causes of ambiguities in financial statements. The study concluded though these ambiguities pose difficulties to users of financial statements, they can be reduced to the barest minimum. The study therefore recommended transparency in disclosure, avoidance of technical languages/terms and consistent application of accounting policy as measures that would mitigate the ambiguities capable of promoting trust and confidence of stakeholders in financial reports of enterprises.
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spelling doaj-art-5a9f7edefbda450fa32e45ebbcff142a2025-08-26T01:31:04ZengKwara State University, Malete NigeriaMalete Journal of Accounting and Finance2735-96032025-06-0152AUDIT ASSURANCE AND MITIGATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AMBIGUITIES: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCHSani Alfred Ilemona0Federal University, Kashere Financial statements of an enterprise are reports that provide information about the performance of a business useful for decision making by stakeholders. Unfortunately, the statements are often plagued with vagueness due to ambiguities. The study examined the causes of these ambiguities and explored ways they (ambiguities) could be mitigated. Relevant literature on the subject matter available from published articles available on the internet and in the library was reviewed. From the review, it was found that factors such as lack of clarity in disclosures, inconsistent application of accounting policy, use of jargon or technical terms, estimates in financial statements that require management judgment, subjectivity in valuation of items and inclusion of related party transactions to be the causes of ambiguities in financial statements. The study concluded though these ambiguities pose difficulties to users of financial statements, they can be reduced to the barest minimum. The study therefore recommended transparency in disclosure, avoidance of technical languages/terms and consistent application of accounting policy as measures that would mitigate the ambiguities capable of promoting trust and confidence of stakeholders in financial reports of enterprises. https://majaf.com.ng/index.php/majaf/article/view/224Financial statementsAccounting, InformationAuditors,
spellingShingle Sani Alfred Ilemona
AUDIT ASSURANCE AND MITIGATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AMBIGUITIES: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
Malete Journal of Accounting and Finance
Financial statements
Accounting, Information
Auditors,
title AUDIT ASSURANCE AND MITIGATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AMBIGUITIES: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
title_full AUDIT ASSURANCE AND MITIGATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AMBIGUITIES: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
title_fullStr AUDIT ASSURANCE AND MITIGATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AMBIGUITIES: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
title_full_unstemmed AUDIT ASSURANCE AND MITIGATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AMBIGUITIES: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
title_short AUDIT ASSURANCE AND MITIGATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AMBIGUITIES: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
title_sort audit assurance and mitigation of financial statements ambiguities an exploratory research
topic Financial statements
Accounting, Information
Auditors,
url https://majaf.com.ng/index.php/majaf/article/view/224
work_keys_str_mv AT sanialfredilemona auditassuranceandmitigationoffinancialstatementsambiguitiesanexploratoryresearch