What characteristic of financial reports refers to the consistency and accuracy of information over time?

The characteristic of financial reports that refers to the consistency and accuracy of information over time is reliability. Reliability ensures that the financial information presented is dependable and can be trusted by users. It implies that the data is presented fairly and accurately without any significant omissions or errors, allowing stakeholders to make informed decisions based on that information. When financial reports are reliable, users can confidently assess the financial health and performance of an entity over different periods.

Other attributes, such as understandability, focus on how easily users can comprehend the information provided. Timeliness addresses the importance of information being available when needed for decision-making, while comparability refers to the capability of comparing financial information across different entities or over different periods. Each of these attributes plays a vital role in the usefulness of financial reports, but reliability is specifically concerned with the steady and accurate portrayal of financial outcomes over time.