The Usefulness of Financial Statements
The primary means of communicating the financial effects of organizational activities and transactions of a company to outsiders is the financial reporting system. This reporting system includes communicating financial information through annual financial statements, as well as through reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, voluntary forecasts, and other financial and nonfinancial releases. Financial statements are the main source of financial information conveyed to parties external to the company. The full set of primary financial statements consists of a balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows. External financial statements have a general purpose and are designed to meet the needs of investors, creditors, and other users of the external reports. They are historical in that they communicate activities and events that have already occurred.
Financial statements are prepared on an accrual basis; they measure the impact of events and transactions when they occur and not simply when the cash consequences of such events and transactions are realized. Financial statements are useful in evaluating an enterprise's profitability, liquidity, and long-term solvency and equity structure. An analysis is conducted from the perspective of external users of financial statements and it relies on the annual report of a corporation and other publicly available information. Management, of course, also has access to extensive internal financial data, and their concerns extend to subdivisions of the enterprise, such as the performance of subsidiaries, divisions, departments, and operating functions.
External reports are intended primarily for stockholders, creditors, directors, and regulators such as the SEC. Although externally reported information is also useful to corporate management at the highest level, it is far too aggregate to be useful for decision making by lower levels of management. And even top levels of management need financial information for decision making with respect to the performance of the various components or segments of the enterprise.
It is vital that managers understand how their corporation organizes itself and at what levels the various functions such as manufacturing, marketing, finance, and research and development are performed. Managers ...
... middle of paper ...
...d profits. It is seldom possible to form a judgment about the performance of an individual segment or division by inspecting the records of only that segment or division. All financial information must be analyzed together to serve useful in and out of a corporate entity.
Works Cited:
Financial Accounting Standards Board, 1978, Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No.1: Objectives of Financial Reporting by Business Enterprises (Stamford, CT., Financial Accounting Standards Board).
Financial Accounting Standards Boards, 1984. Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No.: Recognition and Measurement in Financial Statements of Business Enterprises
(Stamford, CT.: Financial Accounting Standards).
American Accounting Association, 1957. Accounting and Reporting Standards for Corporation Financial Statements and Preceding Statements and Supplements (Iowa City, Iowa: American Accounting Association).
Parker, R.H., 1979. Evolution of Corporation Financial Reporting (Nigeria, Africa: Thomas Nelson and Sons Limited).
Gray, S.J., 1984. Information Disclosure and the Multinational Corporation (New York, New York: John Wiley and Sons).
Financial statement analysis: theory, application and interpretation / Leopold A Bernstein and John J. Wild 6th edition Mc Graw Hill 1998
The Securities and Exchange Commission requires that publicly owned businesses provide annual reports, which are available to the public. Many different people use annual reports, to make informed business decisions. Management from the company uses the information to determine a number of items. Some of these items are the profitability of the company, the inventory turnover rate, and the accounts receivables rate. Creditors use the annual report to determine how well a company can satisfy its current liabilities, as well as, how the company is doing in the aspect of long tem survival. Another group of people who use the annual reports furnished by companies are the investors, who can purchase shares of stock from the publicly company. Annual reports are very important to these people, because they are an over all picture to help them determine the over all stability and reliability of the company’s financial outlook. These annual reports are important because they do not only contain the financial statements of the company, but there is a management ‘s note to discuss reasons for any unexpected numbers, and an auditor’s report, from an independent accounting firm, who either agrees or disagrees with the financial numbers. Market reporter Matt Krant said, “Ignoring these reports is akin to driving down the freeway blindfolded.”
The annual report or 10-K of a company is a useful source of information for many agents outside of the corporation. Shareholder’s can view the contents of an annual report to get a more comprehensive idea of what the company is built upon. Additionally, annual reports show a company’s progress over the past financial periods and give a detailed breakdown of company investing and operations. The 10-K and all related documents are easily accessible on a company’s website for the public to view. i
Due to the use of the company’s annual report for users to make decisions, ensuring that the financial reports convince the objective of general purpose financial reporting and qualitative characteristics of useful financial information as outlined in the IASB September 2010 ‘Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting’ (CF) have become extremely important. Such failure of disclosures can mislead information on the company’s financial statements.
“The objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial strength, performance and changes in financial position of an enterprise that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions.”
Financial Accounting Standards Board. (2006, July 6). Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting. Financial Accounting Series , 1-55.
Hines, R. D. (1991). The FASB’s conceptual framework, financial accounting and the maintenance of the social world. Accounting organizations and society, 16(4), 313-331.
In conclusion, all companies use financial documents to record and journalize their business transactions. These financial documents are not only used internally by company executives, but the financial documents are also used by outside sources to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a company. The ability to read and understand financial statements and to perform a financial analysis is a great skill for all business professional, whether they are investors, creditors, or company executives.
Weygandt, Kimmel, and Kieso (2008). Financial Accounting: A Focus on Fundamentals. John Wiley and Sons Inc.
Private and public accounting has long been discussed and disputed in regards to financial reporting. Since the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) was created in 1973, accountants have called for different accounting regulations for private and public accounting sectors, as private companies do not have the resources to meet the complex requirements of public companies. Private companies currently are not required by law to issue annual or quarterly financial statements (James, 2012). Private companies do, however, have the option to apply the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), cash basis, or accrual accounting to their financial statements (James, 2012).
Helfert, Erich A. (2001). "The Nature of Financial Statements: The Income Statement". Financial Analysis - Tools and Techniques - A Guide for Managers. McGraw-Hill. p. 40.
It is of utmost importance when operating a company or business that all financial statements are accurate. Accurate financial data is needed to get a good picture of how the company is handling its revenue and show how well the company has done in the past. This information is helpful to managers running the company, to investors that may invest in the company, and to creditors who may extend credit to the company. The financial information is also helpful in the company acquiring revenue in the future.
Financial statements include information that can help a firm or business know the stability of their organization. Financial statements
Business owners’ use at least four major financial statements to keep a grasps on their company 's finances during a specific time frame. Financial statements are usually completed monthly, quarterly, semiannually and annually. The major financial statements include the statement of cash flows, the statement of stockholder 's equity, the balance sheet, and the income statement. Each one provides a different awareness into a company 's financial status in the stated period.
"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."[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.