Financial Statements (2024)

Financial statementsare reports on companies’ spending and fiscal positions. These statements can be audited by the government to prevent tax fraud and other illegal activities. Financial analysts use these statements to analyze a company’s performance, then use that information to make predictions about its stock price and future success.

Financial statements can be divided into four categories: balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, and equity statements.

Balance Sheet

Balance Sheets detail a company’s assets, liabilities, and net worth for a specific date. These sheets are typically created at the end of the fiscal year. The assets are listed in order of liquidity, while the liabilities are listed in the order that they need to be paid.

Income Statement

Income statements cover either a year (annual financial statements) or a quarter (quarterly financial statements), and describe how a company arrived at their net income over that period. The details of these statements include revenues, expenses, and earnings per share, and usually includes past data to compare with.

Cash Flow Statement

A cash flow statement describes a company’s inflows and outflows of money over a period of time. These flows of money come from three main activities: operating, investing, and financing. Analysts use cash flow statements to find dividends paid and the dollar value of repurchased shares.

Equity Statement

Equity statements describe how the equity of a company changes over time. This change is affected by net profit or loss, individual gains or losses, shares bought and sold, and dividend payments.

Financial Statements (2024)

FAQs

Financial Statements? ›

The three main types of financial statements are the balance sheet, the income statement, and the cash flow statement. These three statements together show the assets and liabilities of a business, its revenues, and costs, as well as its cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities.

What are the 5 financial statements? ›

The five key documents include your profit and loss statement, balance sheet, cash-flow statement, tax return, and aging reports.

What are the 3 main financial statements called? ›

The income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows are required financial statements. These three statements are informative tools that traders can use to analyze a company's financial strength and provide a quick picture of a company's financial health and underlying value.

What are all 4 financial statements? ›

The 4 types of financial statements
  • Balance sheets.
  • Income statements.
  • Cash flow statements.
  • Statements of shareholders' equity.
Nov 1, 2023

Are there 3 or 4 financial statements? ›

There are four main financial statements. They are: (1) balance sheets; (2) income statements; (3) cash flow statements; and (4) statements of shareholders' equity. Balance sheets show what a company owns and what it owes at a fixed point in time.

What are the four fundamental financial statements? ›

For-profit businesses use four primary types of financial statement: the balance sheet, the income statement, the statement of cash flow, and the statement of retained earnings.

What are the financial statements required by GAAP? ›

There are four different financial statements that GAAP requires companies to report: income statement (or P&L statement), balance sheet, cash flow statement/statement of cash flows, and the statement of owner's equity.

Which 2 of the 3 financial statements is most important? ›

Another way of looking at the question is which two statements provide the most information? In that case, the best selection is the income statement and balance sheet, since the statement of cash flows can be constructed from these two documents.

Which is the most important financial statement? ›

The income statement will be the most important if you want to evaluate a business's performance or ascertain your tax liability. The income statement (Profit and loss account) measures and reports how much profit a business has generated over time.

What is common in all three financial statements? ›

The concept of retained earnings is the centerpiece that links the three financial statements together. The retained earnings balance in the current period is equal to the prior period's retained earnings balance plus net income minus any dividends issued to shareholders in the current period.

What is a four balance sheet? ›

The four balance sheet challenge includes challenges of 4 different sectors – real estate companies, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), and the original two sectors viz., banks, and infrastructure companies.

What does gaap stand for? ›

Generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, are standards that encompass the details, complexities, and legalities of business and corporate accounting. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) uses GAAP as the foundation for its comprehensive set of approved accounting methods and practices.

What does a balance sheet show? ›

Introduction. The balance sheet provides information on a company's resources (assets) and its sources of capital (equity and liabilities/debt). This information helps an analyst assess a company's ability to pay for its near-term operating needs, meet future debt obligations, and make distributions to owners.

What are the three core financial statements? ›

The balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement each offer unique details with information that is all interconnected. Together the three statements give a comprehensive portrayal of the company's operating activities.

What are the three major sections common to all financial statements? ›

The three main types of financial statements are the balance sheet, the income statement, and the cash flow statement. These three statements together show the assets and liabilities of a business, its revenues, and costs, as well as its cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities.

What are the three personal financial statements? ›

These financial statements are the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.

What are the 5 financial statement analysis? ›

What are the five methods of financial statement analysis? There are five commonplace approaches to financial statement analysis: horizontal analysis, vertical analysis, ratio analysis, trend analysis and cost-volume profit analysis. Each technique allows the building of a more detailed and nuanced financial profile.

What are the five elements of the financial statements? ›

The major elements of the financial statements (i.e., assets, liabilities, fund balance/net assets, revenues, expenditures, and expenses) are discussed below, including the proper accounting treatments and disclosure requirements.

What are the 5 steps of financial reporting? ›

Defining the accounting cycle with steps: (1) Financial transactions, (2) Journal entries, (3) Posting to the Ledger, (4) Trial Balance Period, and (5) Reporting Period with Financial Reporting and Auditing.

What are the four 4 elements of financial statement? ›

Financial statements can be divided into four categories: balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, and equity statements.

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