Critically Assess the Uses and Limitations of Financial Statements

Financial statements (also known as pro-forma statements) have a forecast balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows. Financial statements are used to summarize the different events projected for the future. They are very important in the planning process. The balance sheet is what this research is concerned about. Financial statements are evaluated for performance, for example organizations with multiple divisions compare the performance of the divisions using financial statements. Secondly they help plan for the future.

A balance sheet gives an overall picture of a company's financial situation by showing the total assets of a business, including liabilities plus equity. Current assets can include cash, accounts receivable, inventory and prepayments for insurance. The balance sheet is used by investors to get an idea of what the shareholders have invested, including

When you’re looking at the income statement, you can get information about profitability for a particular period. This is also called the profit and loss statement. The income statement is composed of both income and expenses. This statement can be used to deduct expenses from income and report either a net profit or net loss for that period. This statement will deduct all expenses from income and then report your net profit or net loss for that period. This will allow the business owner to determine if the business is bringing in a good amount of revenue to make a profit. The cash flow statement shows the movement in cash and balance over period. The cash flow can vary depending on the operating activities, investing and financing activities. This statement provides one business owner with insight to the company’s liquidity which is vital to the growth of the business. Reinvesting in business is very important, looking at the statement of retained earnings will tell a business owner how much were reinvested in the company. After profitable period, every big business has to give some of its profits to stockholders, and keep the rest amount as retained earnings. Out of all statements, retaining statement is important to companies that sells stocks to the public. This statement can also provide you with assets and liabilities information. These informations can be used to assess the financial health of your business. The results of a balance sheet will help the business owners to show the risk of liquidity and credit. Looking at these information you can measure trends and relationships to show where in the areas you can improve. These can also be compared to similar companies to show how the business measures up to leading competitors (Ali, 2010). In summary, the financial statements can provide a business owner

(Ohara, 2007) Most financial statements are made public for the benefit of stakeholders and potential investors. The bottom-line is that financial statements are the main source for analyzing how well a company is operating. The income (or profit and loss) statement is simply a report card of how much activity (revenue) was performed in the period, how profitable that activity was (gross profit/loss), and what it cost the contractor to run the business (overhead). (Murphy, 2006)

Financial statements are commonly called balance sheets, income statement, statement of owner’s equity, or statement of cash flows.

Financial statements provide financial decision makers with varied information presented in specific formats that is easily attainable tools to evaluate financial health. Three of the necessary financial statements are the statement of financial position or the balance sheet, operating statement also called income statement, and the statement of cash flows (Finkler, Jones, and Kovner, 2013).

In this paper I will identify the four basic financial statements, discuss how they are interrelated with each other, and why they are useful to managers, investors, creditors, and employees.

Explain the nature of balance sheets. A balance sheet is one of the major financial statements that a company prepares so that its investors and managers have visibility into the company’s financial position. The balance sheet details a company's resources and obligations. The major parts include assets, liabilities and shareholders' or owners’ equity. The balance sheet is run for

A Balance Sheet is a snapshot of an organization’s assets, liabilities, and owners’ equity at any given time. It allows the stakeholder’s to see the company's financial condition, as well as, presenting what is owned and owed. Assets are the things that are owned, and are referred to as capital. Liabilities are the amounts owed to others. In order to get an accurate picture, one must look at the whole document, and make comparisons amongst different line items.

Financial statements are imperative for organizations to keep track of the overall performance and value of the company over a period of time. Furthermore, the financial statements are necessary for creditors and investors to evaluate a company’s financial performance. There are four primary financial statements which focus of different areas of the financial aspects. There are balance sheets, income statements, statements of retained earnings, and statement of cash flows. Each of these statements is an essential measure for the financial activities within a company.

The Financial statement review is important to view as they are the way in which a buisness communicates with its shareholders. We will cover the “three primary accounting statements: the income statement, the balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows.” (Hickman, Byrd, & McPherson 2013) We will use these three statements from BJ’s to help get a more detailed picture of where they are financially. Let’s start with the income statement.

The “financial statements are formal reports providing information on a company's financial position, cash inflows and outflows, and the results of operations” (Hermanson, p.22). There are four main components that make up a financial statement. The four parts are, balance sheet, income statements, cash flow and, statement of owner’s equity. The balance sheets role is to define the company’s assets liabilities and revenue of the business. The income statement shows the income within the company. Cash flow reviews the position of the company by cash payments and receipts. Lastly, the statement of owner’s equity shows the amount of earnings, stock and other capitals of people in the company. (Hermanson, p.34-35).

A balance sheet provides detailed information about a company's assets, liabilities and shareholder's equity. The balance sheet is based on the following accounting model: assets equal liabilities plus equity. Assets are the things a company owns that have value. Liabilities are amounts of

Does a company have too much inventory? Is a company collecting money from its customers in a reasonable amount of time? Once again, it is the balance sheet - the listing of all of the assets and liabilities of a company - that can tell you all of this. And once again, its understanding is crucial for the management of the company, potential investors, and many other users.

A financial statement (or financial report) is a formal record of the financial activities of a business, person, or other entity. In British English including United Kingdom company law a financial statement is often referred to as an account, although the term financial statement is also used, particularly by accountants.