A recent article suggests:
A monumental change is emerging in accounting: the movement away from the decades-old method of periodic financial statement reporting and its lengthy closing process, and toward issuing financial statements on a real-time, updated basis . . . real-time financial reporting provides financial information on a daily basis. Current technology allows for financial events to be identified, measured, recorded, and reported electronically, with no paper documentation. (Source: Real-Time Accounting, The CPA Journal, April 2005 Issue).
Would a shift toward real-time financial statements make the financial information more useful or less useful? More or less relevant? More or less reliable?