Interpretation of financial reports: an experimental investigation of the efficiency and effectiveness of different information presentations

This study investigates the effects of different information presentation on a user's efficiency and effectiveness with financial reports for questions of different levels of complexity. Evidence of the superior effectiveness and efficiency of one form of information presentation over another was found only at the lowest level of question complexity used. The use of colour in an information presentation adversely affected the user's efficiency, particularly when the table information presentation was used. These results suggest that tables, bar graphs and line graphs are appropriate information presentations to use in general purpose financial reports when decision performance is being measured in terms of a user's efficiency and effectiveness.