Financial Statement Review
University of Phoenix
ACC/561
Financial Statement Review
Introduction
Financial statements play a significant role in each and every type of business. The financial statements provide a wealth of information to auditors, creditors, investors, suppliers and other important venues that need access to this type of information. This paper will discuss four different types of financial statements and how they are utilized by vendors, creditors and others. The four financial statements that will be reviewed are the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statements and statement of retained earnings.
Income Statement Beginning with the income statement, the information provided includes
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It is an inclusion to either the balance sheet or the income statement and not a stand-alone financial statement.
Importance of Financial Statements Financial statements have a significant impact on the successfulness of a company. Depending on whether you’re an investor, creditor or manager, the information that is most crucial will depend on who you are. An investor is concerned with the bottom line and the overall value and growth of a company. A company’s earnings and revenue can be compared to the stock price. As an investor the balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows is important. Investors will review the information and determine if the company overcame any obstacles and if there is still room for growth. They will also review the net income / loss and the history over previous years to determine any growth or potential for growth. As a creditor, information that is important is the current amount of debt and the amount of cash that is available to pay back that debt. The statement that would be most beneficial would be the balance sheet. The balance sheet contains all of the assets to include cash and cash equivalents and current liabilities as well. It is important to know the current ratio for a creditor to determine the worthiness of the company and the ability to pay both short
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
investors, auditors, executives of the business, etc.) an overview of the financial results and condition of the company. The major financial statements that come out of the accounting cycle are income statements, balance sheets, Statement of cash flows and Statement of retained earnings. Income statements are considered the most important of all the financial statements since it presents the operating results of an entity , e.g. revenues, expenses, and profits/losses generated during the reporting period (Bragg, 2017). Balance sheets provide reports of assets, liabilities, and equity of the entity as of the reporting date and can be considered the second most important statement because it provides information/figures about the liquidity, as well as the capitalization of a company (Bragg, 2017). Statement of cash flows exhibits the cash inflows and outflows that occur during a reporting period, which provides a useful comparison to the income statement, particularly when the amount of profit or loss reported does not reflect cash flows encountered by the businesses (Bragg, 2017). Statement of retained earnings is the least used financial statement that provides information regarding changes in equity during the reporting period and can include information such as: sale or repurchase of stock, dividend payments, and changes caused by reported profits or losses. Statements of retained earnings are often
As a CEO or a member of the management team it is important to have a very clear understanding of all the financial documents that are available to them. It is not only their duty but their responsibility to know these documents and finances extremely well because
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
The purpose of this paper is to define accounting, and identify the four basic financial statements. The paper also explains how the different financial statements are interrelated to each other and why they are useful to managers, investors, creditors, and employees.
The balance sheet (BS) is significant to a business due to its ability to provide a “snapshot” of a company’s assets and liabilities at any given time. This financial document is a cursory representation of a business’s health. The use of comparative BS whether it be yearly, quarterly, or monthly provides the interested parties a tool to observe trends that are positive, negative, or neutral to a company’s financial health (Finkler, Jones, and Koyner,2013) .
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
Users are likely interested in information that will assess the company's liquidity, solvency, risk and return, etc. Therefore, they can know more about how is the company financed and the availability of cash to pay debt from the balance sheet. They can know exactly about allocation of the use of cash for different activities from the statement of cash flows. Income statement will provide the information about the revenues and expenses of the company. They can also access information associated with dividend paid and retained earnings.
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
Income statements, along with balance sheets, are the most basic elements required by potential lenders, such as banks, investors, and vendors. They will use the financial reporting contained therein to determine credit limits.
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).
Accountants, business owners, investors, creditors and employees use four basic financial statements of an organization to determine the financial well-being and future earnings potential of that organization. Financial statements are a key tool in seeing and understanding the past, present and future condition of an organization. What are these financial statements and what do they mean to the reader? Do the financial statements mean something completely different to an investor, creditor, and employee?
Balance sheets and income statements are a snapshot of a company’s stability and financial situation. Combined the statements show the income, expenses, and stockholder’s equity in the company. These statements are often analyzed by financial institutions when a company comes to them needing a loan. Stockholders and other investors also look at these statements to make sure their investment will return a profit for them. This paper will look at four different companies and their balance sheets and income statements. The companies are Eastman Chemical Company, Covenant Transportation
Financial Statements basically show the historical performance or record of the company at some previous point of time. By the time when financial statements are made public, changes are many economical areas such as market conditions, currency exchange rate and inflations can change the values of assets and liabilities. In this case there often exist discrepancies between book value of assets and their market values.