Importance of Income Statement and Balance Sheet Essay

An income statement, also known as a profit and loss statement shows how much money a company has spent over a period of time. It also shows the costs and expenses that are associated with earning that revenue. It is an important measure of the company’s profitability. The simple building blocks of a net income formula are revenues minus expenses equal net income.

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

a.) The income statement, also called the profit & loss account (P & L), is used to illustrate a company’s revenues and expenses over a particular period of time. It shows the net profit and/or loss for the given period (the difference between the business’ total income and its total costs). It also allows shareholders to see the performance of the business and if it has made an acceptable profit.

* An income statement is a report that contains information in regards to an organizations’ assets and financing in order to obtain those assets that is collected over a certain period of time

The source of revenue comes from net income, which comes from a sale of goods or services in

(Ohara, 2007) Most financial statements are made public for the benefit of stakeholders and potential investors. The bottom-line is that financial statements are the main source for analyzing how well a company is operating. The income (or profit and loss) statement is simply a report card of how much activity (revenue) was performed in the period, how profitable that activity was (gross profit/loss), and what it cost the contractor to run the business (overhead). (Murphy, 2006)

Describe three examples of transactions that would affect a firm's income statement. For each transaction, identify if the transaction has a positive or negative effect on the firm's net income. Revenues is the amount of money a company receives for goods or services rendered. This type of transaction has a positive effect on net income. Expenses are costs that a business obtains through its operations to earn revenue. This has a negative effect on net income. Profit is a financial gain after expenses and revenues are taken into account. This has a positive effect on net income.

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,

The income statement generally covers standard categories of revenues and expenses, as well as industry specific categories or sub-categories that hold little utility outside the specific business area. Commonly listed major expenses cover a variety of costs common to nearly all businesses functioning in a country with an established government and rule of law. Costs of goods sold account for the cost of manufacturing or acquiring goods to sell. Selling, general, and administrative expenses cover everything from management costs to staffing compensation to the infrastructure required to move goods to a point where consumers may purchase them. This category also includes expenses such as employee training. Interest expense accounts for any interest payments the business must make to satisfy outside financing arrangements, such as servicing previously issued bonds. Tax burdens make up the last commonly found major expense on the income statement, including national, state, and local taxes.

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

Ans: The income statement lists the revenues minus expenses or costs of goods sold and operating expenses and will reveal a net income or net loss (Revenues – Expenses = Net Profit or Net Loss). Income statements show how much money a company made and spent over a period of time. Income Statements cover a specified period of time usually annually or quarterly. An Income Statement represents only one limited view of the companies’ net profits or net loss after all revenues are listed while expenses (costs) and taxes are subtracted. The Income

This Income Statement also known as the Earnings Statements or statement of operation, is one of the four Financial Statement used by accountants, business owner’s, and investors. The Income Statement provides a detailed look into how profitable a business has been over a designated period of time.

Net income is total revenues minus total expenses incurred to generate those revenues all within the same reporting period. Net income is calculated by the accrual accounting methodology meaning that the expenses incurred to generate revenues are reported at the same time the related revenues are reported. Both revenue recognition and expenses paid may not coincide with actual cash transactions. Net cash from operating activities, on the other hand, is not determined by accrual but by

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

The balance sheet and Income statement are the most important financial statements of the company that help conduct current analysis of company and evaluate its trends overtime. The balance sheet represents the company snapshots of its financial position on the last days of accounting period. Apple balance sheets, which represent a snapshot of its ending balances in asset, liability and equity account as of the date stated on the report, are changes each year from 2003 to 2014. On the other hand, the income statement shows its financial performance over 2003 to 2014. Apple basically ends its accounting period in September. Most of the long-term debts are in the form of the bonds. According to appleinsider.com, Apple recently issues a new euro bond worth about $2.26 billion with a maturity date on January 17, 2024 and coupon rate of 1.375% payable annually. The first payment will occur on January 17, 2016. Moody’s recently assigned a rating of Aa to Apple Inc. 's senior unsecured note issuance. Thus, Apple recent capital expenditure amount to 11,488 million according to morningstar.com. The analysis of financial statements is conduct to compare Apple with one of its closest rival Hewlett-Packard and twelve ratio were calculated. From table1 and chart1, the current ratio that determine the company ability to meet its short term obligation shows Apple’s current ratio is higher than that of Hewlett-Package from 2003 to 2014. That is, Apple is solvent than Hewlett Packard. Table