Financial statements

One that shows income and expenses for an accounting period, or Assets, Liabilities and Equity as of a point in time.
Example: Table 24.

Table 24 Financial Statement

Income statement Balance sheet

Rental income $50,000 Assets Liabilities & equity

Interest expense -20,000

Depreciation -10,000 Buildings $400,000 Mortgage $300,000

Real estate taxes - 5,000 Land 100,000 Equity 200,000

______ ______ ______

Net income $15,000 Total $500,000 Total $500,000

Report containing financial information about an organization. The required financial statements are balance sheet, income statement, and statement of changes in financial position. They may be combined with a supplementary statement to depict the financial status or performance of the organization. An example of a supplementary statement is an inflation-adjusted financial statement. Some supplementary material is required only for publicly held companies.

Financial statements provide information of value to company officials as well as to various outsiders, such as investors and lenders of funds. Publicly owned companies are required to periodically publish general-purpose financial statements that include a balance sheet, an income statement, and a statement of cash flows. Some companies also issue a statement of stockholders' equity and a statement of comprehensive income, which provide additional detail on changes in the equity section of the balance sheet. Financial statements issued for external distribution are prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), which are the guidelines for the content and format of the statements. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has the legal responsibility for establishing the content of financial statements, but it generally defers to an independent body, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), to determine and promote accepted principles.

The balance sheet, also known as the statement of financial position or condition, presents the assets, liabilities, and owners' equity of the company at a specific point in time. The assets are the firm's resources, financial or nonfinancial, such as cash, receivables, inventories, properties, and equipment. The total assets equal (balance) the sources of funding for those resources: liabilities (external borrowings) and equity (owners' contributions and earnings from firm operations). The balance sheet is used by investors, creditors, and other decision makers to assess the overall composition of resources, the constriction of external obligations, and the firm's flexibility and ability to change to meet new requirements.

Firms frequently issue a separate statement of stockholders' equity to present certain changes in equity, rather than showing them on the face of the balance sheet. The statement of stockholders' equity itemizes the changes in equity over the period covered, including investments by owners and other capital contributions, earnings for the period, and distributions to owners of earnings (dividends) or other capital. Sometimes companies present a statement of changes in retained earnings rather than a statement of stockholders' equity. The statement of changes in retained earnings, also known as the statement of earned surplus, details only the changes in earned capital: the net income and the dividends for the period. Then the changes in contributed capital (stock issued, stock options, etc.) must be detailed on the balance sheet or in the notes to the financial statements.

The income statement, also known as the statement of profit and loss, the earnings statement, or the operations statement, presents the details of the earnings achieved for the period. The income statement separately itemizes revenues and expenses, which result from the company's ongoing major or central operations, and the gains and losses arising from incidental or peripheral transactions. Certain irregular items (such as discontinued operations, extraordinary items, effects of accounting changes) are presented separately, net of tax effect, at the end of the statement. When revenues and gains exceed expenses and losses, net income is realized. Net income for the period increases equity. The results of the firm's operating activities for the period as presented in the income statement provide information that can be used to predict the amount, timing, and uncertainty of future cash flows. This statement is useful to investors, creditors, and other users in determining the profit ability of operations. The income statement must also show earnings per share (EPS), where the net income is divided by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding. Since EPS scales income by the magnitude of the investment, it allows investors to compare diverse companies of different sizes; hence, investors commonly use it as a summary measurement of firm performance.

In 1998, the FASB required that companies present a separate statement that classifies all items of other comprehensive income by their nature. Other comprehensive income includes all equity changes not recorded in the income statement or in the statement of changes in retained earnings and that do not result from contributions by owners. In addition to providing a separate statement, companies must display the total of other comprehensive income separately from retained earnings and additional paid-in capital in the equity section of the balance sheet.

The statement of cash flows replaced the statement of changes in financial position in 1987 as a required financial statement for all business enterprises. The statement of cash flows presents cash receipts and payments classified by whether they stem from operating, investing, or financing activities and provides definitions of each category. Information about key investing and financing activities not resulting in cash receipts or payments in the period must be provided separately. The cash from operating activities re ported on the statement of cash flows must be reconciled to net income for the period. Because GAAP requires accrual accounting methods in preparing financial statements, there may be a significant difference between net income and cash generated by operations. The cash-flow statement is used by creditors and investors to determine whether cash will be available to meet debt and dividend payments.

Financial statements include notes, which are considered an integral part of the statements. The notes contain required disclosures of additional data, assumptions and methodologies employed, and other information deemed useful to users.

The financial statements of publicly owned companies also include an auditor's report, indicating that the statements have been audited by independent auditors. The auditor's opinion is related to fair presentation in conformity with GAAP.

The external financial statements required for not-for-profit organizations are similar to those for business enterprises, except that there is no ownership component (equity) and no income. Not-for-profit organizations present a statement of financial position, a statement of activities, and a statement of cash flows. The financial statements must classify the organization's net assets and its revenues, expenses, gains, and losses based on the existence or absence of donor-imposed restrictions. Each of three classes of net assets—permanently restricted, temporarily restricted, and unrestricted—must be displayed in the statement of financial position, and the amounts of change in each of those classes of net assets must be displayed in the statement of activities. Governmental bodies, which are guided by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), present general-purpose external financial statements that are similar to those of other not-for-profit organizations, but they classify their financial statements according to fund entities.

(See also: Accounting; Financial Statement Analysis)

Bibliography

Engstrom, J., and Hay, L. (1996). Essentials of Accounting for Governmental and Not-for-Profit Organizations. Chicago: Irwin.

Financial Accounting Standards Board. (1987). Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 95: Statement of Cash Flows. Stamford, CT: Author.

Financial Accounting Standards Board. (1993). Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 117: Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Organizations. Stamford, CT: Author.

Financial Accounting Standards Board. (1997). Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 130: Reporting Comprehensive Income. Stamford, CT: Author.

Gross, M., et al. (1995). Financial and Accounting Guide for Not-for-Profit Organizations. New York: Wiley.

Revsine, L., Collins, D., and Johnson, B. (1999). Financial Reporting and Analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

[Article by: VICTORIA SHOAF]

Any report summarizing the financial condition or financial results of a person or an organization on any date or for any period. Financial statements include the balance sheet and the income statement and sometimes the statement of changes in financial position.

Accountancy
Key concepts
Accountant Bookkeeping Trial balance General ledger Debits and credits Cost of goods sold Double-entry system Standard practices Cash and accrual basis GAAP / IFRS
Financial statements
Balance sheet Income statement Cash flow statement Equity Retained earnings
Auditing
Financial audit GAAS Internal audit Sarbanes-Oxley Act Big Four auditors
Fields of accounting
Cost • Financial • Forensic Fund • Management • Tax
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Historical financial statement

Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities of a business, person, or other entity. In British English, including United Kingdom company law, financial statements are often referred to as accounts, although the term financial statements is also used, particularly by accountants.

Financial statements provide an overview of a business or person's financial condition in both short and long term. All the relevant financial information of a business enterprise, presented in a structured manner and in a form easy to understand, are called the financial statements. There are four basic financial statements:^[1]

1. Balance sheet: also referred to as statement of financial position or condition, reports on a company's assets, liabilities, and Ownership equity at a given point in time.
2. Income statement: also referred to as Profit and Loss statement (or a "P&L"), reports on a company's income, expenses, and profits over a period of time.Profit & Loss account provide information on the operation of the enterprise. These include sale and the various expenses incurred during the processing state.
3. Statement of retained earnings: explains the changes in a company's retained earnings over the reporting period.
4. Statement of cash flows: reports on a company's cash flow activities, particularly its operating, investing and financing activities.

For large corporations, these statements are often complex and may include an extensive set of notes to the financial statements and management discussion and analysis. The notes typically describe each item on the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement in further detail. Notes to financial statements are considered an integral part of the financial statements.

Contents 1 Purpose of financial statements 2 Government financial statements 3 Audit and legal implications 4 Standards and regulations 5 Inclusion in annual reports 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

Purpose of financial statements

"The objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, performance and changes in financial position of an enterprise that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions."^[2] Financial statements should be understandable, relevant, reliable and comparable. Reported assets, liabilities and equity are directly related to an organization's financial position. Reported income and expenses are directly related to an organization's financial performance.

Financial statements are intended to be understandable by readers who have "a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and accounting and who are willing to study the information diligently."^[2] Financial statements may be used by users for different purposes:

• Owners and managers require financial statements to make important business decisions that affect its continued operations. Financial analysis is then performed on these statements to provide management with a more detailed understanding of the figures. These statements are also used as part of management's annual report to the stockholders.

• Employees also need these reports in making collective bargaining agreements (CBA) with the management, in the case of labor unions or for individuals in discussing their compensation, promotion and rankings.

• Prospective investors make use of financial statements to assess the viability of investing in a business. Financial analyses are often used by investors and are prepared by professionals (financial analysts), thus providing them with the basis for making investment decisions.

• Financial institutions (banks and other lending companies) use them to decide whether to grant a company with fresh working capital or extend debt securities (such as a long-term bank loan or debentures) to finance expansion and other significant expenditures.

• Government entities (tax authorities) need financial statements to ascertain the propriety and accuracy of taxes and other duties declared and paid by a company.

• Vendors who extend credit to a business require financial statements to assess the creditworthiness of the business.

• Media and the general public are also interested in financial statements for a variety of reasons.

Government financial statements

See also: Fund accounting

The rules for the recording, measurement and presentation of government financial statements may be different from those required for business and even for non-profit organizations. They may use either of two accounting methods: accrual accounting, or cash accounting, or a combination of the two (OCBOA). A complete set of chart of accounts is also used that is substantially different from the chart of a profit-oriented business

Audit and legal implications

Although laws differ from country to country, an audit of the financial statements of a public company is usually required for investment, financing, and tax purposes. These are usually performed by independent accountants or auditing firms. Results of the audit are summarized in an audit report that either provide an unqualified opinion on the financial statements or qualifications as to its fairness and accuracy. The audit opinion on the financial statements is usually included in the annual report.

There has been much legal debate over who an auditor is liable to. Since audit reports tend to be addressed to the current shareholders, it is commonly thought that they owe a legal duty of care to them. But this may not be the case as determined by common law precedent. In Canada, auditors are liable only to investors using a prospectus to buy shares in the primary market. In the United Kingdom, they have been held liable to potential investors when the auditor was aware of the potential investor and how they would use the information in the financial statements. Nowadays auditors tend to include in their report liability restricting language, discouraging anyone other than the addressees of their report from relying on it. Liability is an important issue: in the UK, for example, auditors have unlimited liability.

In the United States, especially in the post-Enron era there has been substantial concern about the accuracy of financial statements. Corporate officers (the chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO)) are personally liable for attesting that financial statements "do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by th[e] report." Making or certifying misleading financial statements exposes the people involved to substantial civil and criminal liability. For example Bernie Ebbers (former CEO of WorldCom) was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for allowing WorldCom's revenues to be overstated by $11 billion over five years.

Standards and regulations

Different countries have developed their own accounting principles over time, making international comparisons of companies difficult. To ensure uniformity and comparability between financial statements prepared by different companies, a set of guidelines and rules are used. Commonly referred to as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), these set of guidelines provide the basis in the preparation of financial statements.

Recently there has been a push towards standardizing accounting rules made by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB"). IASB develops International Financial Reporting Standards that have been adopted by Australia, Canada and the European Union (for publicly quoted companies only), are under consideration in South Africa and other countries. The United States Financial Accounting Standards Board has made a commitment to converge the U.S. GAAP and IFRS over time.

Inclusion in annual reports

To entice new investors, most public companies assemble their financial statements on fine paper with pleasing graphics and photos in an annual report to shareholders, attempting to capture the excitement and culture of the organization in a "marketing brochure" of sorts. Usually the company's chief executive will write a letter to shareholders, describing management's performance and the company's financial highlights.

In the United States, prior to the advent of the internet, the annual report was considered the most effective way for corporations to communicate with individual shareholders. Blue chip companies went to great expense to produce and mail out attractive annual reports to every shareholder. The annual report was often prepared in the style of a coffee table book.

References

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)

1. ^ "Presentation of Financial Statements" Standard IAS 1, International Accounting Standards Board. Accessed 24 June 2007.
2. ^ ^{a b} "The Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements" International Accounting Standards Board. Accessed 24 June 2007.

See also

• Center for Audit Quality (CAQ)
• Corporate finance
• Financial statement analysis
• Comprehensive annual financial report
• Model Audit

External links

• Practical information on financial statements and financial analysis
• Invaluable and complete guide to creating and understanding financial statements
• SEC.gov - Information matters
• Working with Financial Statements
• Financial Statement

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