The Four Types of Financial Statements
ACC/561 Version 4
December 22, 2012
Much success in today’s business world is tied in with numbers in the form of accounting and financial statements. Being able to understand and properly read these statements is a critical component in truly knowing a business and properly assessing its overall performance. In the accounting world there are four main financial statements that are universally understood and prepared for most publically traded companies and many small and medium sized businesses: the income statement, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, and the statement of retained earnings (sometimes referred to as shareholders’ equity). A fundamental ability to properly
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This practice also reduces a company’s need to turn to outside financing, which also saves on the expense of borrowing money. Investors make great use of this particular financial statement to help in deciding where to sink their money, basing the decision in large part on whether a company typically pays higher dividends or reinvests its profits in itself (in many cases leading to a higher stock price instead). While each of the four financial statements contains specific information tailored to differing aspects of a company’s performance, there are relationships between them which warrant mention. The balance sheet depicts assets which include cash, yet the statement of cash flows goes a step further in explaining the origin and actual use of the firm’s cash reserves. As mentioned, a company’s retained earnings make an appearance on the first line of the income statement as the retained earnings are a direct function and result of net income. Retained earnings are also considered an asset and consequently appear on the balance sheet as well. Evidently there are items contained within these statements that have a direct impact on each other. The value of these statements will depend largely on the perspective of the particular user. As touched on above, investor’s will take great interest in the statement of retained earnings as
In accounting there is much to be learned, about the financial aspects of a business. In the past five weeks I have learned the importance of financial reports and how they relate to the success of an establishment. These reports may include balance sheets and income statements, which help accountants and the public grasp the overall financial condition of a company. The information in these reports is really significant to, managers, owners, employees, and investors. Managers of a business can take and deduce financial
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 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.
Accounting is commonly described as the language of business. It is very important for all business owners to have very good understanding of their finances. Having the knowledge of your business finance, you will know where the money is going. Every business owner should have a good understanding of finance. To have a good understanding business owners needs to understand basic accounting steeps, how does accounting play a role in their business, how to define a financial statement and how the omission of any of these steps would affect the success of a business. Once you have an understanding of accounting/finance and the how it plays
SUMMARY OF STUDY OBJECTIVES 1Identify the sections of a classified balance sheet. In a classified balance sheet, companies classify assets as current assets; long-term investments; property, plant, and equipment; and intangibles. They classify liabilities as either current or long-term. A stockholders' equity section shows common stock and retained earnings. 2Identify and compute ratios for analyzing a company's profitability. Profitability ratios, such as earnings per share (EPS), measure aspects of the operating success of a company for a given period of time. 3Explain the relationship between a retained earnings statement
The standard statements focus on accounting income for the entire corporation, not cash flows, and the two can be quite different during any given accounting period. However, for valuation purposes we need to discount cash flows, not accounting income. Moreover, since many firms have a number of separate divisions, and since division managers should be compensated on their divisions' performance, not that of the entire firm, information that focuses on the divisions is needed. These factors have led to the development of information that
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
Managing a company’s operations, marketing and sales activities and expense management are but a few of the decisions that management has to deal with. After it has made a profit the company will then need to decide what to do with those profits. Among the options for using profits are: operations, returning cash to shareholders, or keeping cash in reserve for future use
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
Balance Sheet Income Statement Statement of Cash Flows Statement of Retained Earnings
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
This essay will begin to look at the main financial statements used by decision makers in businesses today. This essay will go into detail about the income statement and statement of financial position and whether these two statements provide decision makers with their financial information adequately. This essay will also include the various advantages and disadvantages of each financial statement as well as describing whom the decision makers are and why financial statements are important to them. A conclusion will be present at the end of this essay to demonstrate an overall view of whether financial statements are beneficial to decision makers.
Financial accounting is one of the most popular major in the world. In the study of accounting, people must know and use expertly the three accounting statement, balance sheets, cash flow, and income statement. It is the most basic and useful skill in one’s career of accounting. But in the four basic financial statement, the balance sheet or called statement of financial position is the only one which describe a single point in time of a business’ calendar year. “In financial accounting, a balance sheet or statement of financial position is a summary of the financial balances of a sole proprietorship, a business partnership, a
According to Gaspar (2014), accounting can be viewed as “the language of business” as it records, summarizes and reports the financial activities and events of a business. The information that is generated from accounting is used by people to make important decisions, such as managers, stockholders, potential investors, and creditors. The income statement, balance sheet, statement of retained earnings and statement of cash flows are the most important reports generated by the accounting information system.