Information Integrity – January 2013: An AICPA-CICA White Paper

Various types of information are increasingly being made available by business entities to stakeholders, including management, investors, regulators, shareholders and other interested parties. This information may include: excerpts from financial statements, such as inventories or accounts receivable; data from the company records, such as production volumes; and key performance indicators. Stakeholders use this information in making decisions, interpreting or using other information and generally increasing their knowledge about the subject matter.

To make the best decisions, users need to have confidence in the integrity of the information. With this in mind, the AICPA Trust Information Integrity Task Force, in conjunction with the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), prepared a white paper called Information Integrity in January 2013. The purpose of this white paper is to define what information integrity means and to provide context for it to users, preparers and practitioners.

The 28-page white paper offers insight on how information can have integrity and discusses how information integrity can be achieved and maintained. It should be of interest to professional accountants in the accounting profession as a whole, including those in public practice, in business and industry, and other participants in the business reporting process, such as producers and consumers of business information.