| Abstract [eng] |
The previous financial crisis has shown the importance of the problem of the reliability of financial statements. The situation influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic can have an impact on the reliability of disclosures in financial statements. The reliability of financial statements is one of the qualitative characteristics that assists in decision-making, decreases uncertainties. Studies on the reliability of the information of financial statements are relevant in the periods of crisis, they can assist financial statement users in their decision-making. The object of this thesis is the reliability of disclosures in financial statements. The objective of this thesis is to study the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the reliability of disclosures in financial statements. Four tasks have been put forward for achieving the objective: uncover the problem of the reliability of the information of financial statements during periods of crisis, analyze the concept of the reliability of the information of financial statements, factors which could have an impact on reliability, methods for evaluating reliability, form a methodology for evaluating the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the reliability of the information of financial statements and evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the reliability of the information of financial statements using this methodology. A qualitative study in the form of an interview was performed and it has shown that the reliability of disclosures in financial statements during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic is relevant. 10 experts have participated in the interview – accountants, users of financial statements and auditors. The study has shown that the pandemic can mostly have impact on one of the attributes of reliability – the avoidance of errors. During the study three problem areas influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic were distinguished for the reliability of the information of financial statements. The first is that the crisis influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic has influence on the continuity of companies. The second is that various government support leads to fraud. The third is that because of the pandemic, accountants face uncertainties and make errors while preparing financial statements. Furthermore, a quantitative study was performed, in which the reliability of the information of financial statements was evaluated. The companies selected for the study belong to sectors in Lithuania that were most affected by the pandemic. The study was performed based on the financial statement's qualitative characteristics method, quantitatively evaluating the characteristic of the reliability of financial statements. The results of the study show that the reliability of the information of the financial statements of selected companies did not change since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, though more attention was paid to the assurance of continuity. Also, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial results was revealed. |
