Analyzing the users` expectations gap of financial reporting information

This research with a pathological investigation and by paying attention to the views of users, seeks to identify the gap of expectations in financial reporting to know the areas of failure in providing useful information for users to make decisions. The research was conducted with a qualitative approach and the method of semi-structured interviews and examining qualitative data through the Data Analysis Spiral. That's why, a total of 21 specialized interviews were conducted with the main users of information. The results showed that the content of financial reporting did not provide all the information necessary for economic decisions and it is not enough to evaluate the management stewardship duties. Financial information due to features such as incompleteness, being retrospective and outdated, complexity, change of format and content, inaccurate judgments and estimates, and opaque relations of its components has little usefulness. The suggested solution to reduce the expectations gap and improve usefulness is the compilation of principles as a general guide for the disclosure of information in financial statements which can be in the form of a revision in accounting standard number one in its structure and content section or explanatory notes or be considered as a non-binding practice guide.