Historical-based financial statements may be misleading during periods of significant inflation. Many resources may have been acquired in periods when the purchasing power of the monetary unit was much higher. These expenses then typically are deducted from revenues that reflect current purchasing power. The resulting income number is unintelligible. Another problem for statement readers is that the value of assets recorded at their historical acquisition cost is typically understated as a result of inflation. Understated asset values produce understated expenses and overstated earnings.
Financial trends are also difficult to interpret, as trend statistics generally include monetary units of different purchasing power. A positive trend in sales may be due to price changes, not real increases in sales.