diff --git a/doc/man/man5/acct_gather.conf.5 b/doc/man/man5/acct_gather.conf.5
index f062bc6b115eaf9481ef0c0c1c83dc4da8b6d3eb..a7572279a3b11f26135d4f1cbd9c60539207a0fe 100644
--- a/doc/man/man5/acct_gather.conf.5
+++ b/doc/man/man5/acct_gather.conf.5
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ acct_gather.conf \- Slurm configuration file for the acct_gather plugins
 
 .SH "DESCRIPTION"
 
-\fBacct_gather.conf\fP is an ASCII file which defines parameters used by
-Slurm's acct_gather related plugins.
+\fBacct_gather.conf\fP is a UTF8 formatted file which defines parameters used
+by Slurm's acct_gather related plugins.
 The file location can be modified at system build time using the
 DEFAULT_SLURM_CONF parameter or at execution time by setting the SLURM_CONF
 environment variable. The file will always be located in the