Decision Usefulness: A Re-examination of the Information Needs of Nonprofit GPFR Users

The extent to which financial reports are decision useful is of central importance in relation to the accounting standards that underpin them. This is as true of nonprofit financial reporting as it is of financial reporting in the commercial and public sectors. In this paper we report on our findings related to a research project focused on examining the decision usefulness of Australian accounting standards from the point of view of nonprofit Users, Preparers and Auditors. Undertaking a series of round tables specific to each cohort, we examine the question of who is accountable, for what and to whom in the context of financial reporting. Our research reinforced a number of issues negatively impacting the ability of General Purpose Financial Reports to facilitate decision making in the nonprofit sector. However, we also identified a number of new issues related to financial reporting generally and current and prospective accounting standards specifically. Some of these phenomena appear to have manifested as a result of the impact of COVID and some of which are impacted by a changing funding environment. Overall, the project found that there are manifest specific issues and aspects which are particular to the sector and that need to be considered by standard setters in considering future frameworks and standards themselves.