Essay on The Purpose of Financial Statements

Financial accounting statements can help a user to make future decisions by showing the concerned business’s health. It shows where money is being generated, spent and lost, depicting the financial performance and financial position. The statements can also help in situations such as raising fresh capital in the form of a loan, e.g. a bank will most likely require these statements to show the business’s credibility or worthiness. The statements help influence managerial decisions on which direction the business needs to head, and how to best maximize profit.

Accounting is the heart and soul of executing a successful business. Accounting is used to provide record for all items that are paid and received for a business over any period of time. Within the purpose of accounting lies the need to provide continuity and sustainability within a business, without it a business will not thrive. The information obtained is kept on record, in order to give insight to upper management on data concerning the daily revenue and expenses of that business. This data is needed to not only inform the employees of the business, but also the investing parties of that business as well. Success in business is equated to being accountable of all aspects of revenue and expenses. To

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).

A financial statement is a document in which the current situation of the user at the end of the fiscal year is known. The financial statements are important because they are serious and official recognition that allow a much organised idea finance documents. They help not only to see the past, but to learn from it to improve the following year. They also allow study of clear and effective way he was saved was spent and more. The financial statements reflect the financial position of the company, financial performance and cash flows of the company, it is significant to note that the correct depiction of the impacts of transactions and other events and circumstances according to the explanations and a criteria identification of assets, liabilities, income and expenses goes in the same outline (Schroeder et al., 2011).

Financial statements are key aspects of business operations. In fact, it is the financial statement that provides management with the information needed to make sound business decisions. Other stakeholders, like investors and creditors, use financial statements to make decisions about whether or not to invest in, loan money to, or do business with a company (Jesswein, 2013). The importance of a financial statement is dictated by the need for certain information, i.e., the overall health of a business, the creditworthiness of a business, and/or the ability of a business to make money (Jesswein, 2013). Financial statements are comprised of income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements (Melicher & Norton, 2014).

Summary report that shows how a firm has used the funds entrusted to it by its stockholders (shareholders) and lenders, and what is its current financial position. The three basic financial statements are the (1) balance sheet, which shows firm 's assets, liabilities, and net worth on a stated date; (2) income statement (also called profit & loss account), which shows how the net income of the firm is arrived at over a stated period, and (3) cash flow statement, which shows the inflows and outflows of cash caused by the firm 's activities during a stated period. Also called business financials

One purpose of financial reporting is to provide information that is useful in making business and economic decisions for internal and external users. The measurement plays a vital role in preparing a reliable and fair report cause it determines how the report shows the entity’s financial position and performance.

The overall purpose of financial statements is the provision of relevant and concise information about the financial position of a firm or other business enterprise. Financial statements allow a manager or analyst to make informed judgments regarding the proven and likely future performance of a firm prior to the making of important investment decisions (Bernstein and Wild, 2000).

Financial statements are an important tool used by managers, owners, and lenders to track performance. The income statements, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows provide the detailed data necessary to evaluate the financial health of the organization.

Financial accounting is used to present the financial health of an organization to its external stakeholders. Board of directors, stockholders, financial institutions and other investors are the audience for financial accounting reports. Financial accounting presents a specific period of time in the past and enables the audience to see how the company has performed. Financial accounting reports must be filed on an annual basis, and for publically traded companies, the annual report must be made part of the public record.

Every business has to prepare its financial statements for its investors and making its business decisions. Company’s financial conditions are of major concern to the investors and creditors. As capital providers they rely on the financial statement for safety and profitability of their investments. They are also interested in knowing where and for what purpose their money is being used. Financial statements present the financial health of the entity.

Businesses all over the world use financial statements to get an idea of how their business is operating. It is important for accountants and Chief Financial Officers within the organization to come up with statements that enable business leaders and shareholder with an idea of how the business is doing for a certain time. Financial statements can be uses for auditing purposes and provide the business leader with the information needed to make decisions in reference to the company. There are different types of financial statements and there will be brief overview of how these statements benefit a company as a whole. Income statements, balance sheets, owner’ equity and statement of cash flows all reflect and provide information to business leaders that can aid with making the best decisions concerning goods and services they provide to consumers.

The objective of financial statements reports the company 's financial position. The financial statement is the most common form of an accounting report. It is designed to help communicate the collected information to interested parties for internal and external users. The users of the statements are financial institutions, managers, shareholders, prospective Investors, and the government, etc. A financial statement is a summary of four different accounting data. The information is gathered from the income statement, a cash flow statement, a balance sheet, and the owner 's equity statement. The income statement would be the most effective way to communicate an organization financial position. The income statement provides information that includes the company 's revenue, expenses, and net income or net loss of a specific period.

Financial statements are very important to businesses. These statements show the basic health of the business. We can use the data from the statements to evaluate a company’s track record, present status, and future financial direction. Financial statements are used both internally and externally. Internally, business use these statements to control their finance. Externally, these statements are viewed by investors who want to invest in the business or creditors who might possibly provide the business with financial capital.

We know business is mainly concerned with the financial activities. In order to ascertain the financial status of the business every enterprise prepares certain statements, known as financial statements. Financial statements are mainly prepared for decision making purpose. But the information as is provided in the financial statements is not adequately helpful in drawing a meaningful conclusion. Thus, an effective analysis and interpretation of financial statements is required. Analysis means establishing a meaningful relationship between various items of the two financial statements with each other in such a way that a conclusion is drawn. By financial