Financial Statements and Disclosure Policies “To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future nor indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust”, John F. Kennedy. In this quote, Kennedy expresses that the ultimate goal of finance is to gain trust from those who can help capitalize on the organization. Most importantly, it states that transparency and honesty are the best indications for building that trust. The need for trust is equally valid and critically important for healthcare organizations. As the healthcare industry grows, so does the policies and procedures for accurate and transparent accounting. Therefore, healthcare …show more content…
Therefore, healthcare leaders should be able to understand reporting guidelines to comply with reporting standards and avoid further negative implications for the organization. This paper will discuss the concept of liquidity, excess of revenue over expenses and increase in unrestricted net assets. In addition, it will focus on disclosure of accounting policies in the notes to financial statements. Finally, it will review two articles that overlook reporting disclosure guidelines for Municipal Securities, and the difference between charity care and bad debt reporting. Liquidity Liquidity is an imperative measure for healthcare organizations. As defined, liquidity is the ease and speed with which an asset turns into cash (Cleverley, Cleverley & Song, 2010). In fact, according to a study completed by Coyne (1985) cash liquidity is the most sensitive measure of solvency for healthcare organizations (Coyne & Singh, 2008). In response to this statement, Smith (2008) considers that because the financial solvency analysis is a critical area of importance, attention to cash liquidity measures is a powerful predictor of hospital failures. This because for many nonprofits their ability to pay their obligations on time (liquidity) (Keating & Frumkin, 2001) is a primary concern. In essence, if an organization
Read the disclosure statement found below or on the Foundations website carefully and answer the questions below. You will need a calculator to complete the activity. Upload your answers to Black Board.
“Access to good financial information is essential to success in the policy and financial management arenas” (Bartle, Hildreth, Marlowe. P. 222). Proper accounting is the cornerstone to working towards a balanced budget. The CAFR (comprehensive annual financial report)
The HCS 405 week 1 financial terms worksheet throws light on some of the most basic concepts of the healthcare business. Understanding health care financial terms is a prerequisite for both academic and professional success. The health care business helps the nation by providing the building blocks that the citizens need to live a successful and healthy life. The worksheet is intended to ensure that the students understand some of the basic terms used in the business world of the health care industry. The purpose of HCS 405 individual and team assignments is to make the students aware about the numerous strategies employed in the financial and other departments of a
In week 2, I will be answering some questions that are relevant to the company “Central Health Services” selling service contracts for healthcare applicants and equipment. I will be discussing adjusting the accounts, adjustments and ethics also located in our textbook. In conclusion, I will be discussing my overall review of my findings and the difficulty in accrual accounting.
The Hospital Fairness and Transparency Act, state of Massachusetts, I feel it is important for communities’ to be aware, and to ensure their taxpayer dollars are instead dedicated to safe patient care and necessary services in the Commonwealth, and in other states as well. I find it admirable that Advocates actually provided legislators with a list of hospitals with funds stored in offshore accounts and will urge legislators to demand greater transparency by passing the HPTFA. Today communities are asking more questions related to healthcare facilities finances in their communities. Massachusetts health care costs
Managers who are managing health care organizations must be attentive to the accounting practices and must obey and practice the financial management procedures to be able to solve any issues if any should arise. With the continuation of the high costs of health care managers as well as consumers must know how to budget carefully. According to All Business. (2010), the cost of providing health care services, patients way of payment for these services and the environment in which those patients reside and receive those services are important elements that affect the care this is or may not be
Next, we studied the financial structures of health care organizations. Specifically, we examined the structure of nonprofit healthcare organizations. I remember spending a good amount of time debating whether or not nonprofits should maintain their tax exempt status. As someone who had spent their entire professional career working for a nonprofit organization, I often viewed myself as the sole champion for these organizations. In sessions and on the discussion boards, I advocated that nonprofit healthcare organizations in most situation function as a safe net of the community and that the level of community benefits these organizations provide do justify the lost revenue for state and federal agencies.
Controlling is ensuring the validity and accuracy of all financial information within the firm. Controlling will become very profound as the industry overall undergoes fundamental change in regards to operations. Legislation imposed by the federal government regulates, to a certain extent, how health care organizations operate. As such, management must be able to control costs and assess the validity of the financially information presented to them. If the organization fails to do so, the results could be devastating. First, loses will occur due to the excessive lack of control. The organization may be forced to lower spending in some areas of compensate for the aggressive spending in others. In addition, the reputation of the firm could be harmed. Patients and other vendors may be unlikely do business with the firm for fear of the company's lack of financial security. Therefore, in order to ensure the continuity of the business, the firm must have adequate methods by which to check the validity of its financial information. Third party audits, independent audits, check and balances and management oversight all will help ensure that the overall financial position of the firm is sound and credible.
The first article “Community Health Systems to Sell Assets to Pay down Hefty Debt” is about local community health systems such as hospitals and facilities throughout the U.S. that has suffered a lack of earnings, patient admissions, profits, and share. Due to this disappointing news, community health systems will have to sell their assets in order to raise money to pay off their debt. By each quarter the losses were getting worst, community health systems continued to lose earnings and admissions. The company sold its biggest assets which were different hospitals, in hopes to pay off debt and improve financial operations. These divestitures also lead and contributed to several losses and improvements.
HCA, after following a conservative financial policy since its establishment, has entered the new decade preparing to make some changes in order to realign their financial strategy and capital structure. Since establishment, HCA has often been used as a measure for the entire proprietary hospital industry. Is it now time for the market to realign their expectations for the industry as a whole? HCA has target goals which need to be met in order to accomplish milestones in the future. The problem arises as to which area holds priority to the company. HCA must decide how the key components of their financial strategy and policy should my approached in order
Palomar Health is one of the largest health care districts located in California around San Diego Counties. Palomar Health operates three hospitals, in addition to home health care, surgery, skilled nursing, ambulatory care, behavioral health services, wound care, and community health education programs. This paper will analyze Palomar Health’s financial statement from fiscal years following 2012 to 2015. An in dept analysis of the Consolidated Statement of revenue, expenses, and changes in net position will be examined to better understand the organizations standings of their financial outcomes for those following years (McIntosh L. 2015).
Understanding the financial analysis of healthcare organizations is strategic to the organization by understanding their stand on the amount of revenue they gain, healthcare assets, and their financial goals. This paper will provide a comparison on the performance of financial analysis of several California Healthcare Organizations such as; Scripps Health, Palomar Health, Sharp Healthcare, and Tri-City Healthcare. The four healthcare organizations will be illustrated with an overview about what the organizations have been doing financially , where they have been growing financially, and what have they accomplished over the past year from examining their financial statement. As the nation’s healthcare model continues to evolve,
The following pages present a brief analysis of sample data from one healthcare organization. Accompanying this written report are spreadsheets of the company's financial data its balance sheet and its statement of revenue and expenses that provide not only the figures from the audited reports of the hospital examined, but also show the change from year to year on each item as both a dollar amount and a percentage. Changes of more than five percent are considered worthy of discussion, and as these documents show much
Healthcare managers participate in various important roles that allow them to form and maintain flourishing organizations. Managers ought to be aware of the decisive elements of management and the generally accepted accounting principles. At the same time, they must realize, stick to, and put into effect the general financial ethical standards. Successful management of finances of healthcare is one of countless tests that mug the organization. Revenues and expenses of the organization are essential because they establish the external and internal finances of the company. The
Financial statements have several key components and specific criteria into them to relay the detailed information for auditors and management. A deeper look into financial statements and the many concepts surrounding them are needed to explain in more detail. It’s also important to recognize the Auditor’s opinion letter, balance sheet, operating statement, statement of changes in net assets, and statement of cash flows and footnotes of their involvement in the process. Relevant accounting articles are a useful supplement to financial statements and how they enhance concepts in the financial statement. The meaningful uses of financial statements for health care organizations are the epitome of current and future success of financial health.