Financial Statements
The business world requires exacting standards to ensure all costs are correctly accounted for and considered. To this end the financial statements have become the centerpiece for business evaluation. The income statement, balance sheet, statement of cash flow and ratios for analysis of financial statements play a critical role in business evaluation.
Income Statement The income statement is a mainstay of business operations and expenses. This statement details the revenues and expenses over a time period (i.e. quarter, year, etc.) (Melicher. 2013). This statement incorporates important details of the business operations and profits generated. The key elements to look at on this statement are the gross profit, operating income and net income before taxes (Melicher. 2013). The gross profit includes cost of the goods with respect to revenue, a good indicator of not only what is being sold but what it costs to obtain goods. Also it should be noted that operating income and net income before taxes provides a good sense of what the company earns versus general/administrative expenses and the cost of interest. Tax is a constant that will affect earnings but incentives change this and can bolster and/or skew data. The balance sheet details other aspect of business.
Balance Sheet The balance sheets provide similar data to the income statement but with a different objective. The balance sheet is used to capture the performance of a business with
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
The difference between the income statement and balance sheet in regards to timing is the following:
(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)
The balance sheet (BS) is significant to a business due to its ability to provide a “snapshot” of a company’s assets and liabilities at any given time. This financial document is a cursory representation of a business’s health. The use of comparative BS whether it be yearly, quarterly, or monthly provides the interested parties a tool to observe trends that are positive, negative, or neutral to a company’s financial health (Finkler, Jones, and Koyner,2013) .
While inaccurate accounting can cause misleading information about the company, every successful company should develop an income statement and balance sheet when monitoring financial growth. Also, formulating a horizontal and ratio analysis creates an accurate trend of the company spending behavior and debt-to-ratio venerability. A balance sheet can be considered as the bloodline of the company, allowing a quick view of financial fluency which could be attractive to outside investors. Last but not least, the income statement presents a hard result of gains, liabilities, revenues and debt within a yearly
The Balance Sheet is another type of financial statement used by a company to see a snapshot of the company's financial position at a particular point in time. It lists the value of the company's assets followed by its liabilities. A balance sheet can be summed up by a simple equation:
1. How is the income statement related to the balance sheet? The income statement and balance sheet work cohesively together in order to show the company 's equity by determining and summarizing how all of their assets and liabilities were utilized. This is accomplished by reporting all financial assets, losses, gains, and liabilities within the organization during any unambiguous time frames.
This is the source of the value of the company to its stockholders and to the stock market analyst (Yahoo Finance, 2013). The Balance Sheet may also indicate a negative Shareholder Equity which means the shareholders are losing money. The Balance Sheet also illustrates the trends in borrowing the company has used in the last year. The long term debts that are listed on the balance sheet compared to assets may indicate a problem if the debts are called in by the loaner for some unforeseen reason. There are multiple methods or ratios for determining the future profitability of a company indicated by the line items on the balance sheet (Mertz.J., 2000).
This income statement tells how much money a company has brought in (its revenues) how much it has spent (its expenses) and the difference between the two (its profit). The income statement show’s a company’s revenues and expenses over a specific time frame. This statement
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).
have explained that the Financial statements provide asummarized view of the financial position and operations of a firm. Therefore, much can belearnt about a firm from a careful examination of its financial statements as invaluabledocuments / performance reports. The analysis of financial statements is, thus, an important aidto financial analysis.
The first type of review that can be performed is with a financial statement. The purpose of the income statement is to report or measure the amount of revenue a company has generated throughout a certain accounting period. The accounting period is usually every quarter or annually. (Melicher & Norton, 2013, p. 357) There are three major types of expenses that are shown on a typical income statement. The parts of an income statement are revenue, expenses and net earnings. Gross profit is considered the revenue and is also known as gross margin. It is the profit a company makes before calculating their operating expenses, the interest they owe or their taxes. It is important because it shows a company’s profitability before they pay out their overhead. Simply put it shows how successful the company is during the accounting period.
The comparative balance sheet analyses is the study of the trend of the same items, group of items and computed items in two or more balance sheet of the same business enterprise an different dates. The changes in periodic balance sheet
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.