Finance: The Four Primary Financial Statements

The main purpose of the financial statements is to provide creditors and investors with a summary of a business financial activity. All statements are prepared at certain times throughout the year. The balance sheet reports liabilities, assets, and owner equity of the company. The income statement matches incurred expenses during a period of generated revenue. The statement of retained earnings reports retained earnings from net loss and net incomes from

As a creditor or lender it is of utmost importance that they have all the information necessary to make a sound decision as to whether or not they will lend money to a company. The retained earnings statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows will paint that picture for a creditor due to the fact that they will see where the company’s money is being earned and spent through the statement of cash flows, they will see how they are either paying out dividends to investors or reinvesting the money into the business through the retained earning statements, and how solvent the business is by looking at the balance sheet.

* A balance sheet is snapshot of the financials for that organization (with assets on the left and liabilities on the right side) for that particular date that was requested

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

The income statement (IS) also known as the profit & loss statement provides the net gain or net loss of a business entity. The importance of the income statement is to evaluate profitability of a company (Finkler, Jones, and Koyner, 2013). The best use of the IS,

Learning Objective: 04-03 Present an income statement with earnings per share, statement of stockholders equity, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows.

Understanding the finances of a company is important but knowing the significance of the financial statements is crucial to the operations as well. Reviewing the statement of financial position, operating statement and statement of cash flows serve as a guidance to management and executives on the day-to-day activities of an organization (Finkler et al., 2013). For example, the statement of financial position (balance sheet) shows the assets and

Retained Earnings Statement shows amounts and causes of changes in retained earnings during the period. Time period is the same as that covered by the income statement. Users can evaluate dividend payment practices. This statement shows the changes in the shareholders’ equity account. The first line item is the beginning balance for common stock. The amount of newly issued common stock is added to the

Separately, the balance sheet reports a company’s financial position while the income statement reports a company’s fiscal year profits and losses. The balance sheet measures a company’s financial position by reporting its assets, liabilities, and owner’s (shareholder’s) equity. The income statement measures a company’s financial performance by reporting its revenues, expenses, and net income/loss. When combined, they serve two vital purposes: (1) expand the accounting equation and (2) enable analysis using ratios to determine industry position or potential material misstatements. The increase or decrease in owner’s (shareholder’s) equity on the balance sheet is a direct result of the net

The Balance Sheet is another type of financial statement used by a company to see a snapshot of the company's financial position at a particular point in time. It lists the value of the company's assets followed by its liabilities. A balance sheet can be summed up by a simple equation:

The balance sheet is one of the major and critical financial statements that show the financial position of the company. The balance sheets tell the user of the

The Statement of Retained Earnings is a summary of the changes that occurred in the owner's equity during a specific time period, such as a month or a year. Increases to owner's equity arise from investments by the owner and from net income earned during the period. Decreases result from owner withdrawals and from a net loss for the period. Net income or net losses come directly from the income statement, and owner investments are capital transactions between the business

Financial statements of the company are significant for the investors who would like to venture into the business operation. It gives them the insight whether the business is making profits or it is doomed to fail;

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).

Each user of the financial statements interprets the information in a different manor. They use the information to determine their interactions with the organization. Management, investors, and employees use the same information from the financial statements but for different purposes. These four basic statements are the fundamentals of accounting which can be much more detail and complex. They do not need to be more complex for the users of the information; these basic statements have all the information needed to make