Reporting Materiality for Investors.

In a setting of numerous unsuccessful professional attempts to define materiality criteria and in light of several court decisions which held auditors liable for material misstatements in published financial statements, investors find themselves uncertain as to what is not explicitly reported in annual reports. Confusion regarding financial statement materiality derives from the fact that it doesn't appear in the place where searchers might logically look. If, indeed, financial statements are the responsibility of management, and if items are included and/or excluded from those statements on the basis of their materiality, does it not follow that materiality judgment is the responsibility of management and, therefore, that disclosure of materiality standards is a function of management? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]