The etymology of assertion refers us to the Latin word assertatio . The concept is used to name the act and result of asserting : confirming or ratifying what is expressed.
For example: “The statement of the official deputy surprised the rest of the legislators” , “The coach denied the statement of the club president” , “I think that is an inaccurate statement since it causes greater concern in the people” .
Examples of assertion
It can be said that an assertion is an affirmation . Suppose a scientist conducts research on climate change . This specialist travels through several countries and analyzes multiple statistics. After carrying out this work , the scientist is in a position to make numerous assertions about the phenomenon. Although others may deny or contradict his statements, the expert can support them with the data he collected in his investigative work.
Many times assertions arise from discoveries that serve to proclaim something. The discovery of archaeological remains in a place can be used to assert that a culture was present at that site a certain number of years ago. A fossil, on the other hand, can contribute to making assertions about an already extinct animal.
It is important to mention that assertions are not always valid or correct . A man can assert that dogs have five legs and, to support his statements, show a photograph of one of these animals with that many legs. However, that is an exception since, by nature, dogs are born with four legs. The subject's assertion, in this way, is incorrect.
Some features
It must be taken into account that certain aspects of the assertion are considered fundamental, such as these:
-Every statement has words that are repeated, variables, quantifier, verb and concepts.
-The common words that are placed at the beginning of the statement respond to the name of quantifiers. Examples are “all, some, none…”. Its objective is none other than to come to concrete what is manifested in the assertion. Not to mention that they allow you to think more clearly, they require language...
-Assertions can be of two fundamental types: universal and particular. Each of these two groups can be positive or negative in turn. An example of positive universal assertions is “All cats meow” and negative universal assertions are “No dog can fly.” An example of a positive particular assertion is “Some birds talk” and an example of a negative particular assertion is “Not all women are mothers.”
Audits and assurance
It is important to know that, within the auditing sector, the term assertion in question is also used. In this case, it is used to refer to what are the statements or representations of the management of an entity that are incorporated into the financial statements and that, among other things, may present certain errors.
In this area that concerns us, assertions can be of different types, such as those made about transactions, those related to balance sheet accounts or those made about disclosure and presentation.