3.5.7.4 Materiality. It states that the way an item is treated in the accounts should depend upon its magnitude.
To classify an item as material depends upon the influence the item will have on the interpretation of the
amounts SSAP 4. The accounting treatment of government grants state that the amount of the differed credit
should, if material, is shown separately in the balance sheet. Macre (1981) like Nwoko, (1990) viewed
'materiality' as being subjective, as what may be material to one entity may not be material to another entity.
Both agreed that for an item, to be material, it must be relevant, the value can be spread over and above one
accounting period, the size or magnitude of the item could lead to distortion in the financial statements, and its
inclusion or exclusion from the financial statements will be misleading. Chase (1979) adds that the significance
nature of an item, will however determine its materiality effect in the financial statements.