The reality-shaping and value-communicating role of financial reporting – An examination of the role of financial statements, shaped by stakeholders, as a means of conveying social values and as an image-forming system, through an empirical analysis of the views of Hungarian accounting professionals [before doctoral defense]

Kivonat, rövid leírás

Accounting traditionally appears as a technical system for identifying, measuring, and communicating economic events; at the same time, financial statements do not merely reflect, but also interpret and shape economic reality. The dissertation examines the image-forming, value-communicating, and communicative role of financial reporting through social science and philosophical approaches, paying special attention to stakeholders, trust, and social accountability. The theoretical framework reviews the concept of accounting, its regulatory environment, the principle of a true and fair view, the stakeholder perspective, as well as the issues of income inequalities, environmental impacts, the perception of accounting information, and the reporting specificities of non-profit management. The empirical research analyzes the responses of 491 Hungarian accounting professionals gathered via a voluntary questionnaire survey. The six research hypotheses and four auxiliary hypotheses were tested using non-parametric statistical methods - primarily one-sample and paired Wilcoxon signed-rank tests - and principal component analysis to reveal the underlying attitude dimensions. The results confirm that the majority of professionals regard financial statements as a system for conveying values. The size and complexity of a company influence the interpretation of the reality presented, and as social impact grows, the range of stakeholders also expands. Furthermore, it can be established that the clarity of financial statements and the trust placed in them are closely linked, whereas no clear professional consensus has emerged regarding the stakeholder usefulness of non-profit reporting. Overall, the research supports the notion that financial statements are not solely financial data carriers, but socially embedded image-forming, communicative, and trust-building systems, in the development of which clarity, transparency, and the consideration of stakeholder needs are decisive.