General Mills Inc. - Understanding Financial Statements Essay

Publicly traded companies are subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The laws that govern the securities industry were established to provide transparency to investors, creditors and shareholders alike. According to Hoyle, Schaefer & Doupnik, (2015) there are seven major disclosure requirements, the first being a five-year summary of operations to encompass sales, assets, income from continuing operations. Followed by a description of business activities, a three year summary of industry segments to include foreign and domestic operations, a list of company directors and executives, quarterly market price of common stock for the last two years, restrictions on the company’s ability to continue paying dividends, and finally, an analysis of the company’s financial condition, changes in the conditions and results of operation.

There are a number of different reporting requirements that are needed to comply with the SEC. These include the provision of financial statements on a quarterly basis (10-Q) along with an annual report (10-K). These statements must adhere to a specific format that governs how financial statements are prepared, and how the information is presented. There are many sections to these forms that must be included. Moreover, the information must be accurate, and prepared to guidelines laid out in the Generally Accepted

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

Walmart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) branded as Walmart since 2008 and Walmart before then, is an American multinational retailer corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. It is the biggest private employer in the world with over 2 million employees, and is the largest retailer in the world. Walmart operates retail stores in various formats around the world and is committed to saving people money so they can live better and more comfortable. Walmart earns the trust of their customers every day by providing a broad assortment of quality merchandise and services at everyday low prices, while fostering a culture that rewards and embraces mutual respect, integrity, and diversity. The company is

Exploitability- Since Grocery Checkout is the only online grocery destination in London, they can exploit the full potential of their resources. Grocery Checkout’s

Wells Fargo shows a much higher profitability ratio than Samsung, with over 8X that of Samsung. This is to be expected as services are typically more profitable than hardware sales which operate on leaner margins. Wells Fargo also outperforms Samsung significantly on return on sales with over 25X better performance. This again is attributable to better margins on services than hardware. Wells Fargo has a much stronger return on equity than Samsung with a Dupont ratio over 5X higher than Samsung's. Samsung has a stronger financial leverage ratio than Wells Fargo with almost 20% lower ratio for Samsung. Samsung also has a much lower total asset turnover than Wells Fargo. This is attributable to the quick turnover of assets in the manufacturing industry compared to the slow turnover of assets in the financial services sector.

b. What financial statements are commonly prepared for external reporting purposes? What titles does General Mills give these

This analysis contains references to years 2010 and 2009 for Dollar General Corporation, which represent fiscal years ended January 28, 2011 and January 29, 2010 respectively. The main issues which the company is concerned about are its ability to increase sales and profitability and reduce costs in the current economic situation; another issue is an ability to repay an extensive amount of long-term debt which increases its risks.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS), our company, is a global consumer foods company. We develop distinctive value-added food products and market with our unique brand names. We work continuously to improve our established products and to create new products that meet our customers’ potential needs and preferences. Our company has $14.88 billion in sales last year. Our sales has grown substantially throughout the years due in large part to our popular brand names, this however is only part of the reason that we has been so successful. We markets global brands such as Green Giant, Old El Paso, Häagen-Dazs, Yoplait, Cheerios, Betty

General Mills,Inc. is an American multinational sublayers and marketer of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores. Starting with flour to submarines to toys to restaurants. General Mills was incorporated in 1928 to acquire Washburn Crosby organizational, a flour-milling company created in 1866, and four other milling companies. Specializing in cereals and flour products, the company grew by processing food through the years of the Great Depression. Familiar products include Wheaties and Cheerios, breakfast cereals, Gold Medal flour, Yoplait yogurt, and Bisquick baking mix. During those years at the early begging, the company created the personage of Betty Crocker, who became of one of the most widely known as the food expert in the United States. The name Betty Crocker became a shine leading brand of cake mixes and other

According to the financial report given, General Mills is an insolvent business. This is because even after making sum purchases and general expenses; it is still able to settle for them through its everyday operation. The various sources of money are also evidenced from the financial report.

ii. For 2006, General Mills’ had a proportion of 17.44% for short-term assets, and a proportion of 82.56% for long-term assets. So, land, building and equipment, goodwill and intangible assets make up the majority of total assets. In other words, General Mill’s major assets are long-term assets, which is explained by the nature of business that General Mill Inc. does.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 76 years. General Motors was founded 1908, in Flint, Michigan and currently employs approximately 284,000 people around the world. GM's global headquarters is the Renaissance Center located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, They currently manufacture their cars and trucks in 35 different countries. Its European headquarters are based in Zurich, Switzerland, and its Holden headquarters are located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In 2007, 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were produced globally under the following 12 brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and

Gap Inc. is a leading global apparel retail company offering apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, Athleta, and Intermix brands. Having distinct brands across multiple channels and countries allows Gap Inc. a strong competitive advantage.

Q7: Consolidated financial statements are prepared because they can be used in the determination of the financial position of a company, the results due to the operations and factors that could be affecting its operations.