Abstract Professional accountants, both private and public, would undoubtedly be better off with a more explicit and rigorous definition of materiality. This would allow a greater degree of agreement between accountants on questions of materiality and, hence, more uniformity in statement presentation. An explicit definition of materiality would permit the accountant to decide quickly, and expediently, questions of materiality, and thereby allow him more time to devote to other issues. In addition, and perhaps even more important, there are psychological benefits to be derived. is in a much happier situation vis-a-vis the informed public when he has well defined concepts on which to base his judgment. Besides a percentage rule of thumb, materiality must be considered in relation to the economic environment surrounding the business enterprise. This consideration supplements the percentage rule of thumb and thereby adds another explicit dimension that the professional accountant can use when resolving questions of materiality.
Robert Patterson (Sun,) studied this question.