Polish public universities application of the materiality concept in disclosing information

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to assess the application of the materiality con-cept in information disclosures made by Polish public universities in their financial statements, as well as to attempt to interpret the materiality concept to increase the usefulness of a financial statement. Methodology/approach: Financial statements for the years 20172020, as well as summaries of significant accounting policies of public universities, were the main sources of the research data. In addition, the following research methods were used: source analysis (literature, legal regulations), a case study, participant observation, direct observation, deductive reasoning, and the author's personal experience in preparing financial state-ments. Findings: The research results confirmed that the description of the materiality concept made by public universities mainly focuses on quantitative materiality thresholds and does not relate to qualitative parameters. In addition, there are no connections between the de-scription of the materiality concept in a summary of significant accounting policies or the introduction to the financial statement and the presentation of material information, which is the result of the guidelines of a minister responsible for higher education and the requirements related to a digitalized version of financial statements submitted by univer-sities. Additionally, widely used financial statement layouts, as proposed by appendix no. 1 to the Polish Accounting Act, are not fully adapted to the specifics of public universities, neither in terms of the probability of specific resources and processes appearing nor the terminology used. Practical implications: The conclusions presented in the article should be used to begin work on the shape of public universities' financial statements. Originality/value: The article fills the gap related to the financial reporting of public universities. The critical views may be used to improve a university's financial state-ment.