Financial Statements are used to record and provide information on the financial activities of a business, person or entity, this information is used by a wide range of entities in order to make economic decisions (Reference). These reports quantify the financial strength, performance and liquidity of a company and are intended to be understandable to audiences who have an adequate knowledge of economics and accounting. To acquire a better knowledge of financial statements it is important to understand why they are put together in the first place. From a company’s financial statement various information is provided in order to allow investors and creditors to evaluate a company’s financial performance, with different financial statement …show more content…
For an organisation, financial statements are the principal method in which they can make available financial information to a wide range of entities, who use this information to assess a company’s current condition, prospects for growth and potential financial risks. Therefore, financial statements provide important information to a wide number of users both internal and external in terms of making economic decisions, these are known as stakeholders (Reference). There are a number of different stakeholders who use accounting information and they all have specific requirements when it comes to their information needs, the following are types of stakeholders in a company; owners, investors, management, lenders, trade creditors and suppliers, the government, employees, customers and the general public. In terms of internal and external there are certain key users of this information.
Firstly we will look at key internal users; financial statements give owners an overview of their total return on investment. Furthermore, Owners can sometimes be managers so their interests can dovetail with managers, who use the information provided from financial statements to assess
In accounting there is much to be learned, about the financial aspects of a business. In the past five weeks I have learned the importance of financial reports and how they relate to the success of an establishment. These reports may include balance sheets and income statements, which help accountants and the public grasp the overall financial condition of a company. The information in these reports is really significant to, managers, owners, employees, and investors. Managers of a business can take and deduce financial
These adjustments are necessary to reflect actual circumstances that apply to specific projects, work units, the organisation as a whole and the broader economic and financial climate. Within an organisation, there is generally a senior management group or committee responsible for ensuring the financial statements present a full and accurate position of the organisation’s financial situation and that any variants from budget are fully explained. When creating financial reports, depending on the level of detail the organisation requires, the following sources may need to be analysed:
Financial statements of the company are significant for the investors who would like to venture into the business operation. It gives them the insight whether the business is making profits or it is doomed to fail;
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).
Financial accounting reports, to include balance sheets and income statements provide accountants and the general public a snap shot of a company’s overall financial condition and possibly their future financial position. This financial information is very important to business owners, executive managers, private investors and employees. The information contained in a company’s financial report has several important uses. Managers and senior leaders of a business can take extrapolated financial data from the income statement which details monthly earnings as well as the company’s liabilities and equity position. This information can then be used to analyze and forecast future annual budgets. Additionally information obtained in these multiple types of reports can also be used to proactively predict trends that may have a negative financial impact on company’s future operations. On another note a company’s financial reports are used by lending institutions to determine their ability to receive and repay loans used to finance business operations.
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Much success in today’s business world is tied in with numbers in the form of accounting and financial statements. Being able to understand and properly read these statements is a critical component in truly knowing a business and properly assessing its overall performance. In the accounting world there are four main financial statements that are universally understood and prepared for most publically traded companies and many small and medium sized businesses: the income statement, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, and the statement of retained earnings (sometimes referred to as shareholders’ equity). A fundamental ability to properly
In accounting, there is much to be learned, about the financial aspects of a business. In the past five weeks, this writer has learned the importance of financial reports and how they relate to the success of an establishment. These reports may include balance sheets and income statements, which help accountants and the public grasp the overall financial condition of a company. The information in these reports is significantly important to managers, owners, employees, and investors. Managers of a business can take and deduce financial data from the income statement which details monthly earnings as well as the company’s liabilities and equity position, and is also used to project future yearly budgets.
An essential quality of the information provided in financial statements is that it is readily understandable by users. For this purpose, users are assumed to have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and accounting and a willingness to study the information with reasonable diligence. However, information about complex matters that should be included in the financial statements because of its relevance to the economic decision-making needs of users should not be excluded merely on the grounds that it may be too difficult for certain users to understand.
Financial information is playing a crucial role in a business to help the owner make correct decision, this is because as the financial statement, it is ‘a collection of reports about an organization 's financial results, financial condition, and cash flows’ (AccountingTools, ND). Decision making is one of the most vital factors that will affect business to move forward, if the financial information inaccurate, the decision will be inappropriate, such as price setting, and then the business will loss the chance to maximize their profit what is the main objective in a business. Therefore, having accurate financial information is the heart of the business management it can help with decision making process in many ways.
The financial statement is a financial document used to indicate the financial position of a business at a particular moment in time. A business’s financial position can be analysed into three main areas: Profitability, liquidity and stewardships. The statement is prepared at the end of each financial year using accounting basis. The Accrual accounting basis is one of them, it is perhaps the most commonly used approach to keep up with revenues and expenses in the preparation of financial statement . It is suitable to use by organisations that have business activities involving
Users of financial statements consists two categories, internal and external financial statement users. Internal financial statements users include the employees, the management, the owner and other users that are involved directly in the decision making for the business. External financial statement users include the investors, lenders, government and other users that are not involved directly in the decision making for the business. The current requirements set in the IFRS 8 increases the quality of information for the financial statement users that are involved directly to the decision-making. For example the Chief of Decision
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.
The information in the financial statement should be easily understandable for the internal users and the external user. The users of financial statements are assumed to have some business, economic and accounting knowledge and able to study the information properly. According to BPP, complex matters should not be left out of financial statement simply due to its difficulty if is relevant information. Therefore, relevant information should not be excluded due to it is too complex or to difficult for users to understand and the framework should include the presumptions on the capabilities of financial statements users and also the capability of financial statement preparers and auditors. (IASB.ORG, 2005)
The financial statements are very useful to all this group of user. Explain each of them;