Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M6977

Principle of Consistency

Principle of Consistency
BusinessmediumFinance
Included
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Updated 2026-08-09

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

An accounting convention requiring that an entity apply the same policies, methods, and measurement bases from one period to the next so that statements stay comparable. Its core proposition is that trend analysis is meaningful only when the measurement yardstick does not move, and that silent method changes are a common vehicle for manipulating reported results. The qualifier is that consistency is not immutability: a justified change is permitted provided the reason and its quantitative impact are disclosed.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Yardstick lock: fix the measurement method before comparing any two periods or entities. - Change disclosure: when the method must change, state the reason and restate prior figures. - Cross check: align definitions across companies before drawing any comparative conclusion at all.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Comparisons attribute differences either to the underlying phenomenon or to the measuring instrument, and when both move at once the two effects cannot be separated. Holding the method fixed removes instrument noise from the signal, so any observed change can be read as a real change rather than an artifact of redefinition.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    wiki.mbalib.comhttps://wiki.mbalib.com/wiki/%E4%B8%80%E8%B4%AF%E6%80%A7%E5%8E%9F%E5%88%99ZH · Explicit
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