Every item of information has
meta-information associated with it
such as the environmental characteristics
noted above, which permit the user to
understand and interpret the information.
Meta-information is defined as information
about information; it describes what the
information is and contributes to an
understanding of the event or instance and
its attributes. For example, an amount of
35,300 is meaningless because we do not
know what the number represents. It
could be dollars or miles or numbers of
automobiles. If we add a dollar sign, we
know that it is a monetary measure, but
we still don’t know what the item is. If a
label “Inventory” is added, we have
Meta-information is
defined as information
about information;
it describes what the
information is and
contributes to an
understanding of the
event or instance and
its attributes.10
more information but still not enough
to be very useful. However, adding a
description — for example, Inventory of
Finished Goods for Jones Corp as at
Dec. 31, 20X1, valued under U.S. GAAP
at the lower of cost and net realizable
value — provides a reasonable amount of
information, including ownership, date and
valuation. All of the information that was
added is meta-information.