Financial Statements
Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of a business' financial activities. These statements provide an overview of a business' profitability and financial condition in both short and long term. There are four basic financial statements:
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Balance sheet: also referred to as statement of financial condition, reports on a company's assets, liabilities and net equity as of a given point in time.
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Income statement: also referred to as Profit or loss statement, reports on a company's results of operations over a period of time.
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Cash flow statement: reports on a company's cash flow activities, particularly its operating, investing and financing activities.
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Statement of retained earnings: explains the changes in a company's retained earnings over the reporting period.
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.
Balance Sheet
In formal bookkeeping and accounting, a balance sheet is a statement of the book value of all of the assets and liabilities (including equity) of a business or other organization or person at a particular date, such as the end of a financial year. It is known as a balance sheet because it reflects an accounting identity: the components of the balance sheet must (by definition) be equal, or in balance; in the most basic formulation, assets must equal liabilities and net worth, or equivalently, net worth must equal assets minus liabilities (see the accounting equation). A balance sheet is often described as a "snapshot" of the company's financial condition on a given date. Of the four basic financial statements, the balance sheet is the only statement which applies to a single point in time, instead of a period of time.
A simple business operating entirely in cash could measure its profits by simply withdrawing the entire bank balance at the end of the period, plus any cash in hand. However, real businesses are not paid immediately; they build up inventories of goods to sell and they acquire buildings and equipment. In other words: businesses have assets and so they could not, even if they wanted to, immediately turn these into cash at the end of each period. Real businesses also owe money to suppliers and to tax authorities, and the proprietors do not withdraw all their original capital and profits at the end of each period. In other words businesses also have liabilities.
A modern balance sheet usually has three parts: assets, liabilities and shareholders' equity. The main categories of assets are usually listed first and are followed by the liabilities. The difference between the assets and the liabilities is known as the 'net assets' or the 'net worth' of the company.
The net assets shown by the balance sheet equals the third part of the balance sheet, which is known as the shareholders' equity. Formally, shareholders' equity is part of the company's liabilities: they are funds "owing" to shareholders (after payment of all other liabilities); usually, however, "liabilities" is used in the more restrictive sense of liabilities excluding shareholders' equity. The balance of assets and liabilities (including shareholders' equity) is not a coincidence. Records of the values of each account in the balance sheet are maintained using a system of accounting known as double-entry bookkeeping. In this sense, shareholders' equity by construction must equal assets minus liabilities, and are a residual.
Income Statement
An Income Statement, also called a Profit and Loss Statement (P&L), is a financial statement for companies that indicates how net revenue (money received from the sale of products and services before expenses are taken out, also known as the "top line") is transformed into net income (the result after all revenues and expenses have been accounted for, also known as the "bottom line"). The purpose of the income statement is to show managers and investors whether the company made or lost money during the period being reported.
Cash Flow Statement
In financial accounting, a cash flow statement is a financial statement that shows a company's incoming and outgoing money (sources and uses of cash) during a time period (often monthly or quarterly). The statement shows how changes in balance sheet and income accounts affected cash and cash equivalents, and breaks the analysis down according to operating, investing, and financing activities. As an analytical tool the statement of cash flows is useful in determining the short-term viability of a company, particularly its ability to pay bills. International Accounting Standard 7, is the International Accounting Standard that deals with cash flow statements.
People and groups interested in cash flow statements include: accounting personnel who need to know whether the organization will be able to cover payroll and other immediate expenses; potential lenders or creditors who want a clear picture of a company's ability to repay; potential investors who need to judge whether the company is financially sound; and potential employees or contractors who need to know whether the company will be able to afford compensation.
Statement of Retained Earnings
The statement of retained earnings also known as "statement of owner's equity" and "statement of net assets" for non-profit organizations, is one of the basic financial statements as per Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and it explains the changes in company's retained earnings over the reporting period. It breaks down changes affecting the account, such as profits or losses from operations, dividends paid, and any other items charged or credited to retained earnings. A retained earnings statement is required by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) whenever comparative balance sheets and income statements are presented. It may appear in the balance sheet, in a combined income statement and changes in retained earnings statement, or as a separate schedule.
Therefore, the statement of retained earnings uses information from the income statement and provides information to the balance sheet. Retained earnings are part of the balance sheet (another basic financial statement) under "stockholders equity", and is mostly affected by net income earned during a period of time by the company less any dividends paid to the company's owners/stockholders. The retained earnings account on the balance sheet is said to represent an "accumulation of earnings" since net profits and losses are added/subtracted from the account from period to period.
The general equation can be expressed as following:
Ending Retained Earnings = Beginning Retained Earnings + Investments − Dividends Paid + Net Income
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